LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE KATY TIMES BY RAY MILLER:
The following letter was written to the Katy Times and appeared on September 27, 2006. It was written by Ray Miller. That name may be as familiar to you as it was to us. We have reason to believe that this is THE Ray Miller, the gentleman who is a revered Houstonian having written the Eyes of Texas books and scripts for the television show of the same name that aired several years ago. Mr. Miller reportedly lives in the Katy area and still works for Harris County.
A VOTE AGAINST THE KISD BOND
Until recently, my mind, as well as [that of] many others I have spoken with, has changed. A number of us were for the school bond elections, but are now going to vote "no" on the bond issue.
Speaking for me, my vote will be "no" because:
1) The facilities being built are too grandiose and seem to need too much repair or remodeling shortly after being new; Are substantially better than the colleges from which I graduated; Are certainly more expensive, per student, than any public schools of the past; Are placing substantial tax burdens on the district for decades to come..and this bond issue will not be the last.
2) There appears to be a disproportionate amount of money being spent on administration and non-curriculum staffing and on activities that do not relate to teaching "Reading, Writing and Arithmetic."
3) That the Superintendent and School Board should have been held more liable for the recent fiasco wherein there was undue influence/participation in an election of Board Members.
This election is not about the kids but about the legacy of the administration, and I dare you to convince me otherwise. The crying call is always about the kids and not about the real issues of better management and use of taxpayer funds. Cloaking oneself behind "the kids" is really hiding the actual and perceived problems.
There have been too many attacks on the Watchdog group. I do not know any of these people, attend any meetings, contribute any funds or other support. I believe they are sincere in their beliefs and are being personally belittled or degraded by the administration, by individual letters to the editor and by other columns in The Katy Times. Shame on the above of you who have taken such a tacky approach to get a bond election passed. These personal attacks offend me enough to be the sole deciding factor in voting no!
I have lived in the district as a tax paying citizen for 27 years and in not too many more years will be nearing the point of paying as much in school taxes as I originally paid for my home. There are probably others who have lived here longer and have already reached or passed that point.
There will have to be some significant changes prior to turning my vote around. Three that immediately come to mind are 1) Removal of the Superintendent's name from the Merrell Center; 2) The Superintendent moving into and paying taxes to KISD and 3) The cessation of personal attacks on anyone who disagrees with the administration.
You are not going to win me over with belittling me or others concerned with the ever-increasing cost of education except by showing me that you know what you are doing. You are losing on these accounts right now.
Ray Miller
77493
If anyone knows Mr. Miller and can ask him if he wrote this letter, we would love to know so we can thank him for his perceptive opinion!
Regardless of which Ray Miller wrote this letter, it is a good one, and I'm asking that you forward it to everyone on your mailing list who cares about the academic education of children in our public schools. Obviously no one listened to Ray Miller's advice either.
I would also suggest that those of you who have lived in KISD for a while, as Ray Miller has, would add up all the taxes YOU have paid to the District over the years. It is significant I think, that it adds up to as much as we paid for our homes in the first place. Hard to think about that!
Mary McGarr
[We finally did find out that this letter was indeed written by the esteemed Houston journalist, Ray Miller. Unfortunately, Ray Miller passed away September 27, 2008.]