Ways to Cut the Katy ISD Budget:

 

I've left this material up because KISD is getting ready to do another bond election this summer. The public needs to see the tricks and ploys that are used in order for the administration and the Board to get what they want in a bond.

They realized the mistake of deciding what to do and THEN convening a bond committee of citizens last summer, as  the public got wise to their ploy and defeated the bond last fall.  Please, put people who are smart and unbiased on the bond committee!  Let Dr. Harrison stay in his dental office.  He's past his prime as a committee chairman!

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Discussion of the Katy School District's record of proposing cuts to the Budget

As the Katy Independent School District school board and superintendent wait for the State Legislature to tell them how much money is coming down the Pike, other school districts in our area seem able to understand that there won’t be any big “gift” of money forthcoming.  These other districts are doing what they can to find ways to cut expenses.  That’s what wise people, companies and school districts usually do in hard times.

Discussions of budget cuts have been around for many years.  Our school district in the late 1980’s, early 1990’s had a comprehensive audit done by a well-known firm.  It was full of good suggestions, but I doubt that many of them were implemented.

Hugh Hayes, as superintendent in the early 1990’s came up with his own budget “cuts” in case cutbacks were required.

His was an interesting take—many of his suggestions centered on cutting or getting rid of things he knew full well the public wouldn’t abide --things like dropping bus service to students who live within 2 miles of their school. (State law does not require such bus service inside the 2 mile radius unless there is a major thoroughfare to be crossed.)  That means most neighborhood schools would see students walking to school instead of being picked up by a fancy new bus. Even in the days twenty years ago when walking to school was considered safe, parents weren’t wild about that possibility. [Does anyone else think Alton Frailey read this and decided himself that this was a good ploy?  Take away the buses for little children for two years, and when your bond doesn't pass, bring the buses back so parents are ever so grateful!] 

Recently we all discovered that Mr. Frailey hired a consultant to tell him what to cut.  I'm told that this consultant has been used before by Mr. Frailey.  Need to look into that! I also need to remind everyone that a consultant is someone who takes the blame if things don't work out right.  "Well, our consultant said, Blah blah blah, and we listened to him, and we're sorry it didn't work out. It's not our fault!"

Here is the agreement between Mr. Frailey and the consultant William C. Lenhart, Jr.  Please note the date of the agreement! [That's significant because he hired this man BEFORE he fired all the teachers that year! Recall that Mr. Frailey had hired an HR person who didn't understand the concept of a biennial legislature as Texas has, and so she thought the cuts that the legislature made that year were for EACH year, and not for two years!  I was at the board meeting when she did the Power Point Presentation that showed her ignorance.The superintendent didn't know either, (NOR did the school board members) and not one of them looked around at other school districts that weren't cutting teachers (DUH!!!) and so they laid off teachers by the hundreds all the while claiming that the Texas Legislature made them do it! They probably blamed it on Bush too.  The superintendent has never acknowledged publicly that they erred, but the HR person is now gone. They also performed those lay-offs in a a manner totally unbefitting any professional person.  I personally think they just enjoyed doing it.  The public should NOT FORGET what they did!]

$48,000.00 pays for one of those fired teachers!

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