C.U. 1

From: S Bushart
Sent: Sunday, February 05, 2006 5:40 PM
Subject: Eanes ISD update #1

Dear Eanes friends:

As the mother of four children who have attended Eanes schools over the past twenty years, I've appreciated the opportunity to volunteer many hours in our wonderful school district. You've seen me in the classroom and the carpool lane, at fund raisers and also as a Boy Scout den mother of not one but two dens.

During these twenty years, I've seen our schools experience rapid growth and change. In the course of volunteering, many questions have come up regarding activities in both our classrooms and our boardroom, questions which I've attempted to get answers for. At first, I simply asked. Then when again and again I didn't get direct answers, I began filing public records requests.

Why I am sharing these public records now

Here in our area, we have an election soon to choose our new state representative, and our Eanes trustees are considering a bond election vote in May.* Education in America is now front page news; ABC's 20/20 even devoted an hour to public schools on January 13, with a focus on finance and academics, reflecting a new national interest.

It seems crucial that I share some of the information I have gathered over the past two years relating to our school district. The most practical way to do this appears to be to via the internet in a series of emails to members of our community, starting with this one to you now. I ask you to review and forward the information presented to your friends and family in our community--and to our board and administrators--with or without your comments. I am including factual backup with each sufficient that that you can make up your own mind based not on hyperbole or spin but on facts and truth. Armed with facts and truth, we can work together to improve our Eanes schools.

Of the questions on the table, let's start at the top:

Why isn't our Eanes superintendent certified as an educator in Texas?

The document below** is our superintendent's certification record in Texas from the State Board for Educator Certification. As you can see for yourself, in every applicable category, Mrs. Wellman's certificate reads "invalid" and "expired, expired, expired, expired, expired." How can this be? How can our board of trustees have allowed our great school district to be run by someone with an "invalid" and "expired" Texas educator certificate?

You might be asking, "How important is a single document?" Next time you're driving around town, would you prefer having a current Texas driver's license or one that reads, "invalid" and "expired, expired, expired, expired, expired"?

Wishing all the best for our children, our parents, our teachers and our taxpayers,

Susan Bushart

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* Reference http://www.noelke.org/eanes/boardaudio/012506/noelke_org_eanes_isd_012506_4.MP3

Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.

- Albert Einstein