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OUT-OF-DISTRICT
TRANSFER
STUDENTS
NEW
May 5, 2011 - During this school year, how much
tuition could the district have charged each
out-of-district transfer student?
LINK HERE
April 12, 2011 -
YNN reports that "if the board members find it is
legal to
charge tuition
(for transfer
students) they
will." The news
report features a video of Eanes ISD
superintendent Nola Wellman in which she states:
|
"It
is unusual times and as unusual times we have to look at
every opportunity and while we may have been told in the
past it was not possible maybe we can come up with a way
in which we can gain some revenue off of it."
|
Link here to read the following documents regarding this
issue
2004 Transfer Student Report to the Board distributed
to the board members by Nola Wellman, appears to confirm
that she knew then that charging tuition for transfer
students is both possible and legal.
The link also includes additional documents related
to transfer students and a 2004 Budget Reduction
District Priority Worksheet created during the last
budget crisis.
NEW
Lawsuit: Eanes ISD sued for withholding public
information and using AG appeals process as delay
tactic:
LINK HERE
EANES
ISD RFP - RIVER HILLS ROAD MULTI-SPORT COMPLEX
NEW
Posted:
May 5, 2011:
Letter from
Travis County
Commissioner
Karen Huber
READ ALL DOCUMENTS HERE
Posted: February 9, 2011: Read about Jim
Strickland's long association with WHLL and his failure
to file an appropriate conflict of interest form.
Posted: January
18, 2011: Read letter submitted to
this site by Eanes ISD resident Tina Romanella de
Marquez.
Posted: January 15, 2011: Read WHLL response
to RFP. This document is only available on this
site.
Posted: January 6, 2011: Read the February 2010 Eanes ISD RFP for the design,
development, management, and maintenance of a
multi-sport complex on the Eanes ISD property on River
Hills Road which was (as the public understands) only responded to by Western Hills
Little League. (This RFP is only
available online on KeepEanesInformed and as of January
6, 2011 - one year later - is not posted on the Eanes ISD
website under its Business Services/Purchasing Closed
Bids/RFPs section.)
In response to requests from community
members, Keep Eanes
Informed is reposting the audio Ronna Martin's interview
(for board appointment when Gail King vacated her place
shortly after the elections) with the Eanes ISD board in
August 2009. This audio is only available on this
site. Ronna Martin is a candidate for the May 2011
board elections.
Link to audio of interview here.
February 14, 2011 board
discussion regarding transfer students, the FAST report
and per pupil expenditures in Texas public school
districts.
Link here
to read Clint Sayer's questions, Nola Wellman's response
and the TEA data.
KXAN
and Texas Watchdog report on super-sized superintendent
salaries.
Watch both KXAN
videos and read the two articles
here.
February 9, 2011 -
Update: Is Nola Wellman's retroactive pay raise
legal? Nola won't talk and instead refers the
reporter to her "personal attorney". (See Feb. 9
video.)
February 8, 2011 - With
Texas facing a multi-billion dollar budget shortfall,
some districts are considering closing schools and
laying off teachers. So, why are some districts giving
their superintendent raises and super-sized benefits?
(See Feb.
8 video.)
|
If you do the math, it
works out to this amount of base pay per year per
student:
Austin ISD: $3.53
Round Rock ISD: $6.32
Eanes ISD: $30.80
Whew. Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier is paid
about $300,000 a year, and his district has about
200,000 students. That's about 66 cents per kid. If
he were paid at the same rate as the Eanes
superintendent, he'd be making $6.2 million a year.
Read the Texas Watchdog post here.
|
“A lawyer with a briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns.”
-
Mario Puzo
November 2010 Update:
Brownsville ISD Board of Trustees hands Walsh
Anderson law firm its walking papers.
Board President urged trustees to
keep their focus “on the $3.9 million in legal fees that
could have gone to our students.”
A look behind the curtain:
LINK TO LAWSUIT FILED AUGUST 23, 2010 -
Lawsuit filed against Brownsville ISD by former Special
Education Director involving allegations of harassment,
Whistleblower Retaliation, conspiracies, intimidation,
systemic fraud and abuse of the system, Medicaid fraud,
mental and physical harm to children, due process
violations and an effort to profit at the expense of
children with special needs.
Related Link here:
Additional
information on the
controversy
in Brownsville ISD that involves the
private law firm Walsh Anderson Brown Gallegos and Green
(formerly WABSA).
Read more about the
private law firms that benefit financially from
the Texas education system ...
NEW LINK:
2010-11 Eanes ISD Salaries and Stipends
Suggestions for our NEXT
Superintendent ...
November 2010 - Back in 2004,
I read this
article at an Eanes ISD board meeting to welcome
new superintendent Nola Wellman.
Six years later, it's apparent that
she wasn't listening.
November 10, 2010 -
When our community passes a bond, are you aware that that the superintendent and
board can "change the scope" of that bond to fund their wish list
and exclude the items that taxpayers approved? To
review examples of this in Eanes, just google "change of
scope" and "keepeanesinformed." Here's a link to
one example:
2004 Construction Audit.
Here's an excerpt from that audit:
EISD did not fully comply with the Change Order
Policy. Specifically, several changes in scope were
made to the Avnet contract without processing a change
order as required by the procedures. Our review of this
contract indicated that the project drastically changed
from what was originally agreed upon. The
maintenance of Change Order documents was substandard
and is in need of improvement.
November 9, 2010 -
Two Eanes trustees skip meeting, cite vague posting
Since 2004, Keep Eanes Informed
has documented the district's lack of specificity and
transparency in this area.
Read the history here.
It's an new day.
November 4, 2010 -
Eanes voters reject all three bond proposal
October 27, 2010 -
Austin-area school system uses accounting loophole to
use money against voters' wishes
October 26, 2010 -
Two Eanes trustees allege superintendent went too far in
election mailing
September 28, 2010 --- Freedom of Information
Foundation of Texas:
Eanes ISD Gets An 'F' in Transparency
Austin American-Statesman article - September 27,
2010
Link:
Eanes policy will make superintendent travel expenses
harder to track
Eanes taxpayers will not necessarily know if
Superintendent Nola Wellman decides to stay in another
$350-per-night hotel room while on school district
business in New York. Nor will they for certain be able
to find out how much she spends on routine business
luncheons because of changes in the way the district
reimburses her for such expenses.
Read more
about this issue here.
September 27, 2010 --- Who is
Phil Bounds?
and why is Eanes paying him from the
General Fund (199) instead of the Athletic Fund (183)?
Read more here ...
Learn more about the bond issues on this new
community website:
Citizens for Academic Excellence
August 2010 - And this just in from the
superintendent who wants a big new administration
building, a new swim center, a new Jumbotron, an indoor
football field (previously voted down in the 2006 bond)
with an elevated running track and more:
"This (2010-2011 school year) is going to
(involve) some strong tightening of the belt and make
some people uncomfortable,” she said. “We’ll have some
squealing. When we get to 2011-12 and 2012-13, it’s
going to be all out yelling.” - Nola Wellman
KEEP OFF THE FIELDS
Read these and then decide if you think
your child will be welcome to use the proposed new
swim center and indoor football field.
June 2010
April
2010
CONGRATULATIONS to
reporter Houston Fox affiliate reporter GREG GROOGAN
on winning a 2010 CASEY MEDAL for Meritorious Journalism
from the Journalism Center on Children & Families for
his story about an EISD family's efforts to enforce the
Americans with Disabilities Act.
Link:
THE STORY
Link:
THE AWARDS
Related link: More
on this effort here.
The
Squeaky Wheel: Tactics (and Pitfalls) of Advocating for
Your Kids in School - Parent Wise Austin Magazine
Excerpts from the article:
Parents
don’t alienate the school; they’re already alienated,”
says Dianna Pharr, an educational advocate who works
with parents in requesting services for their children.
“If you don’t have any issues with the school it’s easy
to believe that the system is there for the children.
But if you have a problem, you quickly discover that the
system is set up for the administrators.”
And that really is the bottom line: children have a
right to a safe, academically challenging and positive
experience in school — and parents have a right to
ensure that their children receive it. That’s where
advocating comes in, and parents shouldn’t be afraid or
ashamed to do it.
Education is a huge part of our
children’s lives,” says Ms. Pharr. “If they don’t have a
good experience and they’re not well served in their
school district, then it permeates the rest of their
lives.”
2010: New
Political Action Committee calls for fiscal
responsibility in Eanes ISD:
www.eaneseducationalliance.org
September
2010: Update:
Eanes ISD loses lawsuit intended to
allow mandated grade inflation; teacher applauds the
decision:
"Teachers
need to be allowed to give the grades (students) they
earn and not having to worry about the district
mandating grade inflation,” she said. “Even though the
district has changed its policy, it still has a de facto
mandate that gives students a 50, threatening teachers
not doing so. Instead of devoting resources to attorneys
to fight the law, they should have devoted the resources
to students they serve.”
Why is Eanes ISD
one of only 11 districts
investing classroom dollars in a lawsuit
to pass
students with a grade of 50?
And which board members
approved this? And which board member voted no?
Link
here to learn more ...
June 21, 2010
Who is really the "black cloud"? Lisa
Schlimgen ... or Darren Allman?
Link
here to read the Eanes ISD public information.
This begs the question: Is
loyalty to Darren Allman also a job requirement for these
math and science teachers? (See current EISD job
postings below.) And really ... what are the chances that
the best math and science teachers are also coaches?
Math Teacher/Basketball & Football Coach
(2010-11 SY) WHS
Chemistry Teacher/Girl's Assistant Soccer Coach
(2010-11 SY) WHS
Math Teacher/Cheer Sponsor (2010-11 SY) WRMS
Science Teacher/Girl's Coach (2010-11 SY) HCMS
And while we are losing teachers through attrition due
to budget cuts, Nola Wellman plans to replace these
administrators:
- Director of Communications
- Coordinator of Records/Legal Services
June 21, 2010
BUDGET? WHAT BUDGET?
Darren Allman's shopping goes over budget and he
sends the bills to the booster club for payment:
Documents here.
June 21, 2010
A multi-purpose activity center in Eanes ISD?
Really?
Keep off the fields.
June 21, 2010 --- 5A or 4A ...
Is this why transfer students are
important?
June 18, 2010
---
Are
compensation
packages increasing for teacher/coaches at a much higher
percentage (since Nola Wellman arrived) than for teachers who do not coach?
Link here to learn more.
June 2, 2010 -
THE OFFER STANDS. Keep Eanes Informed will post the answers to
these questions
if and
when Mr. Perkins (or Eanes ISD) chooses to provide them.
May 30, 2010 - As Eanes ISD
cuts teacher positions through attrition, why is the
district hiring a Communications Director at almost
$60K + benefits per year. This position is one
of
many administrative positions added by Nola Wellman.
UPDATE: Audio posted -
May 26, 2010
How does DUCT TAPE
SYNDROME
affect your child?
In March 2008, Les Reddin, the Eanes ISD Facilities Director,
informed the board that Eanes ISD is suffering from
"Duct Tape Syndrome" He described an unsafe
environment on district campuses including failing
water lines, sewer lines, and even gas lines on top
of elementary schools. Now hear the audio from
that meeting and read excerpts from the meeting. This audio is not on the Eanes ISD website and is only available online via
Keep Eanes Informed.
Les Reddin informed the board
"There are aging
underground utilities at Eanes Elementary, there's pipes
underground over there failing on a regular basis, we
also have above ground utilities such as gas pipes on
the roof that have not been maintained appropriately so
they are failing also."
Meanwhile,
our last bond funded high definition cameras for the
Jumbotron, multiple fields of artificial turf,
batting cages, new coaching offices, and more.
Link here to LISTEN
TO THE AUDIO AND ... READ ALL ABOUT IT
QUICK AND DIRTY
(pretty well sums it up)
Why is Ellen Balthazar, the director
of Any Baby Can, an agency that exists to serve
children with special needs, is so willing, even
eager, to ignore the needs of district children with
special needs?
What do WHS Head
Football Coach/Athletic Director Darren Allman and David
Perkins have in common?
Click here to
find out.
Eanes ISD Proposed
Bond
SO MUCH FOR TRANSPARENCY ...
April 20, 2010:
Where
did the money from our last bond go?
April 8, 2010: FISCAL
RESPONSIBILITY?
AS TAX REVENUES
DECLINE,
EANES ISD SEEKS A NEW ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
ADA LAWSUIT:
Family sues Eanes ISD:
March 2010
Updates
50% INCREASE IN SALARIES FOR EANES ISD ADMINISTRATORS:
Since Nola Wellman was hired,
central administration salaries have increased by 50%.
While the number
of
transfer
students has
increased by
hundreds
since
Nola H. Wellman
was hired, there
has been a
significant
decrease in
the population
of children with
special needs
in Eanes ISD:
04/05-11% —
05/06-10% —
06/07-9% —
07/08-8%
More
Questions Here
"Sometimes the questions
are complicated and the answers are simple." ~ Dr.
Seuss
Why does Nola Wellman want
to hide
her travel receipts from the public?
Read more here.
WHAT ARE THEY HIDING?
Link here to learn more
about the
Eanes
ISD Proposed Bond ...
And while certain
facilities in the district are held together by
DUCT TAPE,
why is the district
focused on building more and better athletic
facilities?
Take a look at how
the district spent the prior bond money in this
construction audit.
June 10, 2010 --- Westlake Picayune comment: "On the Friday preceding Memorial Day, Lisa (Schlimgen) received her job evaluation. She was told that she hadn’t been “loyal” to Coach Allman. She was given this choice: resign or be fired the following Tuesday when she returned from the Memorial Day holiday. She resigned fearing the implications that being fired would have on her future job prospects."