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32 Dear Editor:
I am supporting Mike Monnig and Kal Kallison for Eanes Independent School District Board of Trustees.
Some readers will recall that I placed my name in the hat for appointment when Gail King resigned from the Eanes school board last summer. Mr. Kallison was appointed to the position, and his vast knowledge of school finance is a great asset to the community and board.
As a resident in the Eanes Independent School District for more than 21 years with two graduates and one still in school, I have attended, observed and spoken at school board meetings, study sessions, forums and focus groups in addition to extensively volunteering in the schools since 1991. I am better informed than most EISD residents, not just on present issues but how we got here, which can sometimes be just as important.
With these observations over many years, I can wholeheartedly endorse and recommend Mike Monnig and Kal Kallison for EISD Board of Trustees. For both of these candidates, there are no hidden agendas. They are passionate about serving the students, parents and property owners of this community and ensuring the best quality of education in Texas is right here in Eanes.
Mike Monnig is the best person for the job and needs to be re-elected. I’ve known him for more than 15 years and his goals and his heart are in the right place regarding Eanes school issues and policies. He has created programs and has participated in the Eanes school and Westbank community as a parent and volunteer at the highest level and continues to do so.
I am voting for Kal Kallison and would recommend him to you also. He has an important skill set that is invaluable to the school board presently. He is a former professor on school finance for The University of Texas at Arlington.
Join me in voting for Mike Monnig and Kal Kallison for Eanes Independent School District Board of Trustees on Saturday.
Ronna W. Martin
Texas Star Lane
Ronna has it half right. Kallison has credentials. Monnig, not so much. His contributions over the years have been minimal. He’s a reliable assist for Durkee and Strickland, but with the sole exception of his pet issue–safety–he hasn’t made a meaningful contribution. Yes, I’m glad we had a defib when a student needed it; no disrespect intended. But for the past 6 years our class sizes have gotten higher. Our expansion has been for show and not effect. Our teachers have been downsized and we have come to rely on charity to pay the ones we have left. Fiscal responsibility is beyond the current trustees.
Kallison represents hope. He asks questions that clearly make the other trustees cringe–like he’s the only one who didn’t get the memo that we-are-not-gonna-talk-about-that. But he did vote to hide the superintendent’s travel from the public, and he doesn’t yet seem to understand that the trustees supervise Nola and not the other way around. But he’s a smart guy, and once bitten, twice shy.
We can withstand the reelection of Kallison; lord help us all if we re-elect Monnig.
I am voting for Jones and Kallison.
Something tells me that Ronna would have voted for Nola Wellman’s plan to hide the travel receipts from the public, too. Happily.
How would you know what I would or would not do about the issue you refer to or any other issue? I study issues carefully and objectively from all angles before I make a decision. And I additionally use my name with anything I provide an opinion on.
I think we should ASK KAL if he is “once bitten, twice shy” … via the Picayune comment section, Mr. Kallison, please tell the voters: If there was a vote today that would allow Nola Wellman to hide her travel receipts from the public, would you vote as you did two months ago? Would you vote YES?
If there is no answer, no comment from Mr. Kallison, I will assume that he would again vote as he did in February 2010. He would again vote to report district travel expenses as Nola Wellman’s salary to TRS as a method of INFLATING her salary and state-funded financial benefits AND he would again vote to HIDE PUBLIC INFORMATION from the public. He would vote to exempt her from the per diem travel limits that teachers, administrators and indeed other school district employees must comply with. And Kallison would vote to limit the board’s ability to monitor and/or reduce her travel expenses/budget.
Ronna, How would you have voted on the travel expense issue? With Kallison, Monnig, and the rest of the superintendent’s rubber-stamps?
Thank you, Ronna. For your editorial, as well as your attempt for that special appointment.
These volunteers give so much of their time and expertise for nothing. So many polarizing attacks on a school district and it’s Board that is the envy of the state.
The bottom line is that neither Monnig or Kallison could answer the question at district forums on how we’re going to close our $4.6 million budget gap. Let the challengers, who understand we can’t legally engage in deficit spending in Texas government step up and ask questions and help us get the financial train wreck we’re heading for stopped so we can focus on positive changes.
Monnig bragged in today’s paper about building up the fund balance, but fails to mention that we’ll deplete it in less than three years. Jones and Reed have the leadership and management experience that both Monnig and Kallison lack, and the connection with our community to listen to our concerns.
Eanes Mom:
I am rarely speechless, but your post did the trick.
“Jones and Reed have the leadership and management experience that both Monnig and Kallison lack…”.
Leadership of what? Making dinner for the WHS football team?
Managing what? Colleen Jones (who might be a terrific candidate) bills herself as the “CEO of the Jones household”.
Wow, you are really reaching for things here. Whatever you might think of Jones and / or Reed, they do NOT have what you claim they have.
lawyerdad,
Using your logic, Ronna needs to scoot on back in in the kitchen as well …
Congratulations to Colleen Jones and the people who worked on her campaign! This is the first time that I can remember that an incumbent was voted off of the school board. The clique has finally been broken! It’s a tribute to Jones as a candidate, and all of her hardworking supporters.
lawyerdad–I trust you’re not married. For the record, both Sharman and Colleen have (or are) serving as presidents of the Eanes Elementary Booster Clubs. In addition Sharman has been co-president of the Chap Club. About those dinners . . . you might want to thank her for selling the signage at the stadium to help provide funds that the school and Chap Club share. Sharman was also chair of the Junior League Christmas Affair (the major multimillion dollar fund raiser for JLA–NOT a tea party) and is a graduate of Leadership Austin. Kallison worked for the state at UT-Austin, The Higher Education Coordinating Board and UT-Arlington. He is a bureaucrat.
We will now be able to see how this self-proclaimed school finance “expert” (despite not having any mention of public school financing in his curriculum vitae) shows us the way our of our impending financial train wreck on overspending. I trust he’ll come up with better ideas than the $150,00 for school ads he proposed as a solution at the Valley View forum.
And . . . just in time for mother’s day! I trust that if you are till married you try trading places with your wife for a day. Anyone who doesn’t appreciate the managements skills needed to coordinate a household of four children, including special needs, is clueless.
Finally, since I actually know Sharman and Colleen, and have worked with Sharman in community organizations, I think I have a much better idea of her leadership and managements skills than you do. We’ve missed out on a tremendous opportunity in putting her on the board. We can now all watch Kal’s “leadership” in action as he marches lock step with the board majority on every vote–which is why he was picked for the job to begin with! Independent minds don’t necessarily come with Ph.D.’s or vice versa.
There have been many incumbents voted off, but this is the first time that I can remember that an active school board member openly worked for that to happen, and in fact recruited the two candidates who ran against the incumbents. This member has jeopardized his ability to work with the board for the next year and demeaned the trust of the community for his own personal agenda.
Thanks to the only school board member that values transparency and open government in our public school district. An even bigger thank you for his efforts to access school board candidates that share that vision. This voter is thrilled that we now have at least two trustees that aren’t afraid to openly question the Eanes administrators and report the truth to the stakeholders.
You are so right about one thing. The incumbents usually work really hard to protect their “turf” and make sure that challengers don’t stand a chance of getting elected to the board. When we elect representation, we hope for individuals who have the ability to think independently rather than going along to get along and rubber-stamping the superintendent’s agenda. The TASB “Team of Eight” model (seven board members and superintendent) works only to support the wishes of the superintendent. The Eanes ISD board and this superintendent have demeaned the trust of the community for their own personal agendas. The people said “enough” and they cast their vote for representation: Colleen Jones. Anyone (sitting board members, parent, taxpayer, student, past student) who supported her in this election chose a winner!
There was active campaigning by several board members for Mike and Kal.
And just so you know- Eanes Elem Moms urged Colleen Jones to run.
There have been many incumbents voted off?? Name a few.
I know the year that Strickland, Durkee and Sayers came onto the board there were incumbents defeated…. Donna Howard for one.
I can’t remember exactly who was voted off and who chose not to run again, but the majority that approved the two-high school bond proposal were defeated for re-election or chose not to run again. Donna Howard, Jerry Hughes, Jeanetta Saunders, Charlotte Knepp, Marvin Bendele. Change is possible when the community realizes there is a problem and takes action. That election was not about football–it was about financial responsibility. Those who voted for it still remember the former, but the argument that swayed the majority of the voters was that we could not afford the second high school. Its merits were irrelevant–much like the proposal to build a new elementary and convert an existing one to an administrative building.
I remember a few (not by name) in the mid 90’s after the 1 vs. 2 high school debacle.
What is Eanes Elem Moms? Is this part of the Eanes PTO ?? How do you join???
Not the PTO or any type of group- just friends of Colleen who know her well and thought she would be a great Board member.
Choosing not to run and getting voted off are completely different.
Over the years the school board has backed certain candidates and it has been highly unusual when those candidates lost.
The shift in board majority after the defeat of the two-high school bond issue was not at all voluntary–and getting voted off and realizing that you’d be defeated if you ran for re-election are very comparable.
I have no idea why you think the school board should select its new members–although I’ve heard that this was common practice in the Colorado district from which Dr. Wellman came. Since it worked with Kallison, I guess the next resignation and board appointment may be coming soon.
In Texas we have a quaint practice of holding elections and electing those that we believe will best represent the community. In our democratic system of checks and balances the board needs to be independent of administration and exercise due diligence in the performance of their duties. The defeat of Monnig is nothing personal–just a foreshadowing of the growing concerns of many voters that most of the current board has fallen asleep at the wheel.
I am not sure what Eanes Mom is referring to as “asleep at the wheel”… if you mean that Eanes is consistently rated at the top in all areas that can be measured, if you mean that all schools are currently rated exemplary, including the district as a whole, if you mean that the district has a proactive plan for facilities, ADA improvements, etc, I am not sure “asleep at the wheel” would be the term that I would choose. If our leadership (administration and board) does not show vision, if it becomes a venue for negativity, if it does not invest in our students and our facilities, if special interests dominate, then we can easily become just another mediocre district…. do not think that it cannot happen !!! I am afraid that what has happened is that our voters are “asleep at the wheel” and have become used to what we have had, and don’t really realize that it can be gone.
“I have no idea why you think the school board should select its new members”
I DON”T think the school board should select its new members!! But that’s what has been happening far too often. It’s good to see new blood on the board-someone who was NOT supported by the current board members
The new board member was heavily supported by Clint Sayers, and his friends at the Eanes Education alliance. He has been on the board for going on 12 years. He is ready to leave (or knows he will be voted out) and wants to make sure his negativity and bashing of our school district stays on the board. New name, new face but the same agenda.
Just one year ago the district was rated Academically Acceptable. Eanes ISD was having a hard time getting good results with children who are economically disadvantaged. The academic results in this district are, in large part, due to the demographics which are unquestionably fortunate. And the rating also reflect the hundreds of transfer students from other districts.
I also would not say “asleep at the wheel”. The district administration is, no doubt, wide awake when they force children with special needs out of the district, and then transfer in their replacements.
Eanes ISD, we (like many others) learned through experience, is academically unacceptable for a highly gifted learner. But it is a great choice for those who seek a sports magnet. We continue to live in our wonderful neighborhood and pay property taxes and we also continue to vote.
EISD is being proactive in ADA for one reason: They’ve been sued, and they know they will lose. A proactive board would have addressed the problem when it first arose; a proactive board would have found money in at least one of the several bond programs since the law passed in 1990 to come into compliance with ADA.
You can dream what you wish, Concerned Parent, but the EISD board of trustees was in no way, shape or form “proactive” on ADA. If they were, why are they simultaneously defending the current ADA lawsuit by saying EISD is in compliance, and simultaneously asking for the public to fund $7.5MM in ADA compliance projects in this next bond.
Concerned Parent, you are wrong on this one. Very, Very, Very wrong.
Concerned–you couldn’t be more wrong. Most of the people getting involved haven’t been paying attention and when they realize what is happening, they’ve been motivated to action precisely because they care about this district and its educational quality. Texas “exemplary” standards are so watered down that we need to compare ourselves to where we were and where we are in comparison to the other top schools in the county. We’ve actually fallen a little in that area. Our leadership has a proactive plan for bricks and mortar that neglects the true value in our education–our students and their teachers.
I agree with your concern about special interests–but I consider those to be groups that push impractical and expensive projects whether or not the district as a whole can afford to maintain them and the classroom quality for which we are known.
Wake up and smell the coffee!
If any he/she had attended the last board meeting, “Wrong” would have known that Clint Sayers has woken up and is doing what he is supposed to do: represent the taxpayer/citizens in this district. Without his and Paul Stone’s leadership on the bond discussion, we would have veered even further into La-La land. Balthazar was unable to do anything but whine about “the master plan.” Kallison kept saying over and over that the state of Texas was going to fix school finance, and then everything would be great. Strickland was silent except to complain that he was having to even be there looking at the same list of wishes that had already been committed to paper, even though the wish list totaled up to $164 million. Jones was pretty silent: after all, it was her first meeting and she was probably in shock.
Hurray for Clint. He’s been trying to lead the board away from the brink for a long, long time. And thank goodness Paul finally woke up. A master plan that requires $164 million to get started is not a master plan at all. It is a dream.
Thanks, Clint. Thanks, Paul.
Paul Stone may have “turned” regarding fiscal responsibility (based on very recent observations) but he will never have my support because of earlier observations of his actions — both at the board table and in more covert venues.
I wonder if these sitting board members are waking up and realizing that they may indeed be culpable for the actions of the board in the past years. And that unless they start representing the taxpayers, they will be voted off.
When you compare yourself to Del Valle, or Dallas, or Carrollton, or even Highland Park, you are comparing to schools in a state that is just slightly above Mississippi in terms of quality.
Eanes mom is right. We excel because we’re comparing ourselves to other Texas schools. We have a 99% TAKS passing rate, so we’re exemplary. Have you seen the TAKS test? Get real. Any test where 99% pass with 95% or better grades is not a test of academic excellence.
We should compare EISD to Montgomery County Maryland. We should compare it to Westchester County in New York. Or Evanston Illinois. Or any of a hundred high performing school districts–all of which are outside of Texas, and with whom our kids compete for admittance to the top universities in the country.
It’s easy to say your exemplary in Texas. What we need are programs competitive with other states.