If you're missing your favorite school board members this weekend, they are off to Dallas for the TASB State School Board convention. 

Mr. Frailey is probably with them--and maybe other administrators. You pay for their attendance fees ($400 a pop), their meals, and for their hotels.

In exchange for those tax dollars, they get shaped up as school board members--attending sessions on such topics as "learning cool tips and tricks that Google and iPad have to offer," "top ten emerging technology issues...including mobile devices, bring-your-own technology, content management, MOOCs, electronic textbooks, virtualization, cloud computing, and flipped instruction," [board members may] "learn a few simple tricks that you can use right away to improve your writing in a variety of formats, for diverse audiences, on just about any topic," a session addressing the "many aspects of school district advertising; and tips on selling ads, collecting payment, and tapping into a community." a session that "will examine the current status of the global economy and provide insight into what the future may hold..", a session where a TASB attorney "looks at the the legal and practical issues surrounding board member rights." or a session where a TASB attorney "looks at the legal issues involved in fundraising through private foundations, booster clubs, PTA's, activity funds, advertising, and more.

You can see the whole program of events at  https://www.tasa.tasb.org/Home.aspx 

The Board will also get taken out to dinner by PBK if they want to go--at least that's been the practice in the past. Their spouses may go with them to the convention (at their own expense, supposedly, although I have found charges to KISD for their meals in past open records requests for board expenses.)  And usually the superintendent picks up the tab for a dinner for everyone. It's all done for the purpose of creating a "team."