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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
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March 2009 Update:
Allman's salary and information on the
Jumbotron renovation here:
Highest paid football coach in the state?
ESPN-quality Jumbotron equipment? Don't miss the comment section.
Funding
the Eanes ISD
Wish
List
As
class sizes expand, as teachers are
cut and
worse, as
the district leadership continues to
cry poor, as parents are asked to
provide paper towels and latex
gloves for the AP Biology classes,
is the "sky the limit"
as the district offers a salary and
benefits to the
new head coach?
And
did you hear that the Eanes ISD
leadership just spent $700,000 (bond
money) on ESPN-quality Jumbotron
video equipment?
The
Eanes ISD board approved Nola
Wellman's recommendation to hire
Allman in February 2009.
District leadership has not released
the specifics of the district's
offer but just as soon as we can
gather the information, we will post
Allman's contract, salary, stipends,
benefits, and more. I've
heard speculation from locals and
others across the state that Eanes
ISD leadership may have offered
Darren Allman
the highest salary in the state
(130K?) plus extra incentives that
may include the right to bring along
a team of coaches, scheduling perks
for the new coach, housing and more.
At
the same time (perhaps as a
welcome present?) the board also
approved the superintendent's
recommendation to purchase a new
HIGH DEFINITION JUMBOTRON.
The
original scoreboard (you know,
the one purchased in 2003 for
$500,000 that was supposed to pay
for itself in 2-3 years and then
fund teachers) is now
"at the end of its useful life" (actually
a very good description for
other
aspects of Eanes ISD.) But
c'mon what's $700,000 when your
Jumbotron hasn't been replaced since
2003?
You are ready, right?
I
wonder if the
Chap Club
will chip in (guess not) since the
athletic booster club (legally
separate entity from Eanes ISD) is
allowed by district leadership to
use this public property as a
fundraising machine.
Wait,
is that okay?
The
priority of the present Eanes ISD
leadership remains clear. And
oh, by the way, I'm sure Eanes
leadership is wondering ...
have you been converted yet?
What's on your wish list?
A new Eanes ISD board and
superintendent, perhaps?
EISD board "changes the scope of the 2006 bond" and funds the wish list ...
while ignoring critical facility needs.
Eanes
ISD taxpayers are now responsible for the ongoing
replacement of artificial turf on THREE sports fields:
Westlake High School stadium and two additional WHS practice fields.
Will this multi-million dollars expenditure occur every 5-6
years? What is the warranty? Was the project
competitively bid? And who are the contractors?
Note: Eanes ISD voters did not approve the
installation of millions of dollars of artificial turf on
the two practice fields in front of WHS.
The Eanes ISD leadership "changed the scope" of the 2006
bond after the fact and funded their wish list.
Steamroller Blues 2008
March 19, 2008
-
As I stood taking these pictures
of the athletic practice field
in front of the WHS ninth
grade center this afternoon, the
lyrics of an old
James Taylor song kept running through my
mind ...
Well, I'm a
steamroller, baby,
I'm bound to roll
all over you ...
The painfully
real visual of a steamroller
ripping up a $400K sports field of
fancy (and
expensive) sod with embedded
wiring
... to be replaced
with fancy (and even more
expensive)
artificial turf ($2.5 million of
our school dollars)
left me
feeling as though yet another
napalm bomb had exploded (in
this taxpayer's wallet). It is hard to comprehend a
public school board that
is so willing to prioritize
something so frivolous, while at
the same time willing to remain
intentionally indifferent to the
discrimination against students
resulting from the district's
long standing ADA noncompliance.
(Note:
click here for "before" photos
and a 2007 KeepEanesInformed
report on this bond expenditure.)
The
'Think
Safety'
sign in
front of
this
construction
site
certainly
doesn't
seem to
illustrate
our
school
board's
sense of
priorities
for our
district's
children.
I doubt
another
Astroturf
practice
field is
a
taxpayer
priority. If
safety
is truly
a
concern,
our bond
money
would be
better
spent on
providing
access
to basic
needs
.... safe
exit
during
fire
drills,
access
to
playgrounds
and
bathrooms.
'Think
Safety'
would be
a
decision
to spend
our bond
money on
ADA
compliance;
a
decision
that
safeguards
children
and
reduces
our
district's
risk of
an
costly
lawsuit
that
could
result
in the
loss of
federal
education
funding.
'Think
Safety'
would be
a
decision
to
provide
equal
access
to all
facilities
and a
quality
education
for every
child
attending
school
in Eanes
ISD.
-
Susan
Bushart
Click here, turn up your
volume and join me as we
continue to sing the Eanes ISD
'blues' ...
Spring
2008
- Eanes
ISD is
now
installing
artificial
turf on
these
two
sports
PRACTICE
fields
located
directly
in front
of WHS. Surprised?
This
expenditure
represents
a
"Change
in
Scope"
(superintendent-recommended
and
board-approved)
to our
original
bond
package
that
(when
passed)
DID NOT
INCLUDE
artificial
turf (read
more
here
... Note:
According
to a
March
2007
Superintendent's
Recommendation
to the
Board:
"The
preliminary
estimated
cost to
add turf
($1,020,000)
and
lights
($100,000
to
$250,000)
to
practice
fields 1
and 2 is
a range
of
$1,120,000
to
$1,500,000.
More
information
is
needed
regarding
specifications
for the
lighting
to
determine
a more
accurate
cost
estimate.
This
estimate
does not
include
the
additional
2008 replacement
of artificial turf
in the
high
school
stadium.
This
artificial
turf was
last
installed
5-6
years
ago.
Does
turf
have
a
5-6
year
life?
Click
here
to
view
the
Westlake
High
School
artificial
turf
installed
by
Eanes
ISD
in
the
high
school
stadium
in
02/03
as
part
of a
multi-million
dollar
renovation
including
a
$500K Jumbotron.
That
turf
is
now
in a
landfill
somewhere
...
replaced
just
5-6
years
later.
And
we
are
at
risk
of
laying
off
teachers?
MARCH 2007
How Many Months?
B ond Priorities Update -
3/20/07 - Warning! Pay for the fields and then KEEP
OFF! Eanes ISD
Board just authorized the expenditure of millions
of our tax dollars to "change the scope" of the
2006 Bond Program and "authorize artificial turf
and lights for Westlake High School ATHLETIC
PRACTICE FIELDS."
See more below ...
Here are
the design options for the "Multipurpose
Practice Fields"
rendered by a tax-funded
architect. Sound familiar? Like the "Multipurpose Activity Field" (actually a Covered Football Field) turned down by the voters? Perhaps Eanes ISD will try to cover the fields in a future bond? Review the
superintendent's March 19,
2007 recommendation
(approved by the Eanes ISD
board) stated as a "Change
in Scope of 2006 Bond
Program and Authorize
Artificial Turf and Lights
for Westlake High School
Practice Fields One and Two."
Our class sizes are expanding.
Meanwhile,
Eanes ISD athletics remains fully funded
with the best of everything including
new
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?
May 29, 2008 Update:
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."
Program Enhancements for
2008-2009 Link:
Board Action Sheet #063/08
HAVE YOU BEEN CONVERTED?
January 2008 - It's that time of year again. Signs
on school property, the constant flow of newsletters and
glossy mail-outs. In
addition to your already
high property taxes, Eanes ISD leadership
expects you to open your wallets and hand over
...
ONE MILLION DOLLARS.
Eanes ISD is actively seeking to
CONVERT YOU.
It's true.
In an email to a district parent,
Eanes ISD Board Member Paul
Stone states:
<<< "In addition EEF (Eanes Educational Foundation) is doing
a commendable job of
converting the mindset of our parents
from a "free" public school education
to more of a private school mentality whereby parents
expect
to supplement the tax dollars with donations ... "
>>>
At the same time ...
Eanes ISD refuses to post its check register or financial information online. Eanes ISD continues to retain private attorneys with our tax dollars in an effort to withhold our public information.
The Eanes "message" is that EEF donations fund teachers. However, EEF donations actually allow Eanes ISD leadership to continue to fund their "wish list" instead of prioritizing our teachers.
Before Eanes ISD attempts to "convert the mindset" of district parents, before Eanes ISD "passes the hat" claiming financial need, the district should tighten its belt, fund teachers instead of wish lists, post the check register,
comply with state and federal laws, and stop using our
tax dollars to retain aggressive private attorneys to battle our children's rights and withhold our public information.
We know our students and our teachers are held
accountable, but where is the accountability for the
district administrators?
A continuing stream of money, provided through EEF, simply facilitates the
district's
priority on wish-lists and its intentional refusal to be transparent and accountable to taxpayers, teachers, parents and children.
In April 2008, KeepEanesInformed asked:
While teachers are
cut and class sizes increase,
why are we
hiring so many new central administrative
positions?
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?
This
issue will be discussed in closed session during the
upcoming May 12, 2008 board meeting. KEI
recommends 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
The Eanes ISD Superintendent and Board are planning a
new bond proposal.
Will they try again?
In 2006, our community
voted down the bond proposal by the Eanes ISD leadership
to construct a $5.5. million dollar indoor football
practice field (also referred to as a MAC and a
natatorium.) When the bond failed, the board
continued to discuss the project. While many
aspects of our schools are suffering (both facilities
and programs) is this costly dream still alive and well
among those who lead our district?
Is High School Football a Public Good?
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.
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