INTERPRETING THE SUNDAY CHRONICLE ARTICLE:

Continuing the Houston Chronicle's attempts to help sway voters to vote FOR the 2014 Katy ISD bond referendum, an article appeared today entitled "Bursting at the Seams, Katy Schools Look to Bond."

The article is only available in the print edition of the Houston Chronicle today. The Chronicle doesn't put up right away electronic copies of education articles--those of interest to parents, teachers and students because they seem not to want comments.

[Five days later the article is posted here:    http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Katy-schools-look-to-bonds-5770227.php ]

The Chronicle since last spring has been pushing all things Katy so that hopefully, after reading their articles, we will all rush to the ballot box to vote for a 750 million dollar bond referendum--no questions asked.

Please remember that the Chronicle last fall, when the KISD voters were presented with an almost identical stadium bond, suggested that the bond referendum cost too much and gave a "thumbs down" to the proposal.

KISD recently invited local reporters to take a tour of KISD's "crowded" schools. Among them was   Leah Binkovitz, who has written several proKaty articles of late for the Chronicle. One may read her bio and about her educational background here:  http://www.linkedin.com/pub/leah-binkovitz/14/295/220 

The reporters visited Memorial Parkway Elementary, and the Chronicle's reporter comments on the over capacity enrollment being experienced at that school.  It is stated that there are 870 students enrolled which is over capacity by 130 students. The capacity of that school is 742.  With ten portables in place, the capacity becomes at least 1,182. No mention is made of the added capacity of the portables.

The principal of the school, Troy Kemp, comments that his is not a "growing school" but with "a number of programs, particularly the auditory impaired program" being placed there, it is indeed overcrowded.  Mr. Kemp also states that these programs "draw students from other schools both inside and outside the district." 

Looking at Memorial Parkway's numbers in February 2014 there were 871 students, but the school  had only seven portables in place. Recently they placed three more portables there while having one less person enrolled.  Is there another reason why they recently put three portables at MPE that they apparently didn't need last spring?  Do more portables make the place look crowded? Why would they need room for 132 more students when they have one less student enrolled as of August 26, 2014?

Recently I drove by this school.  In 1994 it was a very pretty school--it had just gotten some upgrades to the front of the school, some asbestos removed from the ceilings, and had some other things done to it.  It was in a nicely maintained neighborhood, and it was as attractive as any other Katy ISD school.

Now it looks very derelict.

So why did KISD administrators want to take a group of reporters to look at it? 

According to the article, not only is MPE overcrowded with students coming in from other school districts to attend multiple Special Education and other unnamed programs, but it has corroded galvanized pipes, kindergarten children who are being schooled in an "open concept" classroom (which I thought were eliminated several years ago), hundreds of young children apparently housed in portables with no bathroom access, all doors to the main building locked (and that situation might be a violation of the fire code), the floor in the gym too slippery, and the school has not received any major renovations since 1994. Add to that grounds that look like no one has mowed the lawn or watered and cared for it in years.

So where is the investigative reporting?  WHY are students being brought in from other school districts to fill up an already overcrowded school?  Does KISD solicit those students?  What are the "other programs" that are filling up the school?  Might some of these "programs" have been placed at the nearby Nottingham Country Elementary where there are only 599 students and which has a capacity of 1,053 and is 454 students UNDER capacity? Would that not be cheaper than bringing in $95,000 portables "every year"?

Why are all the doors locked?  Is there a crime problem there?  What happens if the police or the fire department need to get in? Why aren't portables fitted with a bath room?  For $95,000 they SHOULD be!  What made the gym floor so slippery?  Has it always been that way?

And about those galvanized pipes.  It's been years since the Memorial Parkway area residents realized that the builders in the 1970's used galvanized pipes.  Most homes, schools, and businesses were  retrofitted with copper or plastic pipe years and years ago. So what the Chronicle reporter has told us is that children and their teachers at this school have apparently been using and drinking water from corroded pipes for literally decades!  You'd think she would have asked about that and told us what they said!

Maybe instead of spending $5 million on Astroturfed high school practice fields that nobody asked for and nobody wanted and now nobody uses because they are too hot until October every year, the superintendent should have fixed the corroded pipes at Memorial Parkway Elementary.

The only good thing that was reported is that Memorial Parkway Elementary has a registered nurse.  Recall, that our superintendent replaced the registered nurses with LVN'S as a money saving measure back when he fired 300+ teachers in 2011.

The fact that Memorial Parkway Elementary has been ignored for twenty years is somebody's fault, isn't it?  Who's been in charge?  How about Leonard Merrell and Alton Frailey?  Why did they ignore Memorial Parkway Elementary?  Perhaps it was because Memorial Parkway residents don't vote in school board and bond elections.  Perhaps it was because there's no new building going on in that area--you know, no developer or architect to contribute campaign funds to school board members or bond PACs or to pick up the tab for drinks and dinner at school board or administrator conventions.

For whatever reason, these two superintendents have deliberately ignored this subdivision and these children. If I were a parent of a child at that school, I would be having something to say about this neglect.  Of course my point is, they are now noting these flaws in order to get votes for the stadium bond.

The article continues with reference to the "overcrowding" at Morton Ranch High School.  Of course some of the students at Morton Ranch could have been moved to Katy High School or to Mayde Creek High School or even to Morton Ranch Junior High which are all under capacity--Mayde Creek by a bunch, but that's too easy.

WoodCreek Junior High is in the same situation--there are nearby junior high schools that are under capacity that could take some of the crowd off of WoodCreek's hands. 

What all of this article suggests in screaming tones is that our school district has been mismanaged for the last twenty years. They build schools in the wrong place at the wrong time and for way too much money every time they build one! When their mistaken placement of schools becomes evident, they won't rezone as that angers those affected.

It's amazing to watch them, but it is disheartening that they get away with what they do because no one pays attention to the details or asks the obvious questions--not even the Chronicle.