Information is currency for democracy.
- Thomas Jefferson
A day without sunshine is like, you know,
night. -
Steve Martin
Education is unique among consumer products;
when it fails to work as advertised, it's the customer that gets labeled as
defective. - Kevin
Killion
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Courage is the most important of all
the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other
virtues consistently. You can't be consistently kind or fair or
humane or generous, not without courage, because if you don't have
it, sooner or later you will stop and say, "The threat is too much.
The difficulty is ...too high. The challenge is too great. ~ Maya
Angelou
KeepEanesInformed
continues
to
hear
from
parents
who
are
disheartened
over
the
expanding
class
sizes
at
Eanes
ISD
elementary
schools.
During
a
March
25,
2009
board
meeting
parents
spoke
out
during
open
forum
of
the
Eanes
ISD
board
meeting
and
the
issue
is
now
on
the
April
6,
2009
board
agenda
(7:30
a.m.).
Class
Size
Issue
on
April
6,
2009
Board
Meeting
Agenda
-
7:30
a.m.
-
Link
here.
From
April
1,
2009
Westlake
Picayune
article:
<<<Parents addressing the <March 25, 2009 board meeting> board on the class size issue included Ginny Scott, who asked the board to set an open floor discussion meeting date; Holly Grancolas, who expressed concern over what she termed a district lack of importance to elementary school class size; Rob Hirshfeld, who said teaching in fifth-grade classes had become a matter of crowd control; Catherine Horne, who handed board members printouts showing enrollment levels at Lake Travis Elementary School; and Julia Webber, who asked the board to explain why preschool classes were hosted at elementary school campuses, which she said prevented the expansion of classrooms and the lowering of class sizes.>>>
Class
Size
Does
Matter.
March
2009
KeepEanesInformed
supports
the
efforts
of
district
elementary
parents
who
are
working
to
reduce
class
sizes.
Links:
Page
One
and
Page
Two
Back
in
2004,
I
noticed
that
the
Westlake
High
School
AP
classes
were
much
larger
than
the
regular
classes.
Packed
actually.
At
the
same
time,
I
noticed
that
elementary
classes
for
my
younger
child
were
also
growing.
Athletic
program
cuts
were
nonexistent.
I
requested
class
size
information
from
Eanes
ISD
and
the
district
refused
to
provide
it.
For
a
full
year,
I
waited.
Finally,
with
the
assistance
of
law
enforcement,
I
received
various
documents
from
district.
When
I
spoke
with
Nola
Wellman
about
the
issue,
she
offered
no
insight,
no
solution,
and
frankly,
no
interest.
Has
anyone
ever
asked
what
the
ratio
is
between
the
varsity
football
team
and
the
coaches?
Eanes
ISD
routinely
asserts
low
class
sizes
and
this
must
be
possible
only
by
averaging
the
small
ratio
between
athletes
and
coaches
into
the
academic
classroom
setting
because
my
children
certainly
never
experienced
a
class
ratio
of
20:1.
While our class sizes continue to soar, Nola Wellman has packed the central administration building with staff while pretending she can't afford teachers due to Robin Hood.
Eanes ISD claims it must cut teachers because it needs more money. But how do we know? If your legislator asks you to explain where your tax dollars are spent, can you answer? This district needs new priorities. This district needs new leadership. We need new board members and a new superintendent that pays her fair share of property taxes.
We must redirect funds from the athletics wish list to quality teachers and smaller class size.
The Eanes ISD administration and board of trustees have already responded to the community's concern about class size and teacher compensation. They have responded by repeatedly encouraging the community to give more time and more money to EEF, so they can continue spending our tax revenue on highly paid football coaches, more artificial turf, and state of the art scoreboard technology.
I
applaud
the
efforts
of
elementary
school
parents
and
their
good
faith
attempt
to
remedy
this
long-standing
problem.
However,
this
community
can
flood
the
Texas
Capitol
with
letters
but
the
legislators
don't
give
a
damn
about
Eanes
when
Eanes
can
afford
four
$100,000
video
cameras
on
robotic
arms
hooked
to
broadcast
transmission
cables,
the
highest
paid
football
coach
in
the
state,
three
fields
(millions
of
dollars)
of
artificial
turf,
$317,000
batting
cages,
and
so
on.
And
the
Eanes
ISD
board
is
glad
that
the
legislators
don't
care.
Because
that
way,
they
can
create
their
"private
school"
with
public
money.
There
is
only
one
entity
that
really
can
make
Eanes
ISD
classes
smaller.
And
that's
the
Eanes
ISD
school
board.
Eanes
ISD
parent
Julia
Webber
says
it
well
in
the
comment
section
of
the
Westlake
Picayune
this
week:
Say it with your vote, parents. Say it with your pen. Say it with your attendance at board meetings. Let this passion be heard in the only language that matters these days….your vote and your pocket book. Come to the next Board Meeting March 25th. Write your Board Members and your state representatives. Rally the troops. Email me if you’d like more info on this movement to refocus EISD spending back where it belongs….maintaining the quality of our teachers and reducing class sizes.
Dianna Pharr - March 9, 2009
January 2008
Our class sizes are expanding.
Meanwhile, Eanes ISD athletics remains
fully funded with the best of everything
including new
artificial turf in the high school football
stadium and two high school athletic
practice fields.
The district's priority remains clear.
Eanes ISD is presently
spending millions of dollars on new (not
core) high school classes and expensive
related equipment ... film lab, film
teacher, video truck, garage for video
trucks and more. Many of us wonder
... will the Chap Club and athletic
program benefit from this new film
course? Think
... games, broadcasting, selling videos,
Chap Club fundraising. We know
that the
Jumbotron is a now a
money-maker for the Chap Club.
Remember, according to district
leadership, the Jumbotron was supposed
to "pay for itself" and then fund
teachers.
What's next?
Administrators are traveling to exciting
places, staying in gorgeous hotels, and
playing golf.
The district is creating
more
new Central Administration positions
while claiming that it needs more
donations just to keep teachers in the
classroom.
May 29, 2008:
While elementary-school
teacher ratios decline
through attrition cuts, Nola
Wellman just spent $500,000
on a "vision" of
"initiatives that support
rigorous, engaging
instruction and professional
development of the highest
quality for staff" to make
Eanes a "world class school
district." This is
educationese for central
office administrators,
including a "Coordinator of
Performance Improvement" and
a "Coordinator of Math and
Science."
How many administrative positions have been added by
Nola Wellman since 2004?
Many community members are discussing the apparent
rise of central administration positions and pay in Eanes ISD. Are the total expenditures (and
positions) for central administration on the rise in
Eanes ISD?
KeepEanesInformed has recommended that the Eanes ISD board ask the Eanes ISD central
administration to create a spreadsheet showing the
central administration positions and expenditures by
year for the last five years and share that report
with the public.
In May 2008, the
Eanes ISD board posts the following closed session
agenda item:
Tex.
Gov. Code 551.074 Personnel Matters
Deliberate and Discuss Central Office Administrative
Positions
So, who supports sports
on the public dole? It's
not just young athletes,
their families, and
fans; the school system
is the biggest winner.
When a new sport is
added to a school's
program, a new dependent
constituency is created.
Where lacrosse used to
be the private
responsibility of player
and parent, it has
become the public good
funded by the
community's tax dollar.
The lacrosse bill is now
split between parent and
neighbor. And, the
threat of withdrawal of
the tax-funded,
school-district-redistributed,
funding source frightens
the parents of athletes
into action. They rally
behind the schools for
tax increases, no matter
the reason, no matter
the amount.
Most of us would never
think of asking our
neighbors to foot a
personal bill. We accept
responsibility for car
and roof repairs as ours
alone. In addition, we
don't bang on the door
across the street in
order to demand a
contribution towards our
children's figure
skating lessons, tae
kwon do classes, etc.
That which is consumed
or used by our families
is to be paid from our
pockets — the definition
of personal
responsibility.
Dianna Pharr - March 9, 2009