googie Says:

30. March 2011 at 9:28 pm

I’ve heard the same types of complaints from teachers all over KISD. I pulled my child from Beck Jr. High for abuses by the administration, too. We should have paid more attention to Cynthia Blackman when she ran for School Board, she was trying to alert the voters to these issues.

Mary McGarr Says:

31. March 2011 at 10:06 am

In the 2008 election, Eric Duhon won with 2,278 votes. His opponents were Fred Krenik with 148 votes, Cynthia Blackman with 2,142 votes, and Ross Raymond with 325 votes. Cynthia was short by 136 votes. What a difference it would have made if more people had voted for the Republicans!

I’m wondering how many people on this particular blog post voted in last year’s two elections? That’s your only recourse. There are three Republicans running for school board positions in May: Proctor, Dibrell and Huckaby.

Just Wondering2 Says:

31. March 2011 at 10:20 am

Tell us more about Huckaby please.

Mary McGarr Says:

31. March 2011 at 10:24 am

He’ll have to toot his own horn! I just saw somewhere that he is a Republican precinct chairman.

KatyTruth Says:

31. March 2011 at 9:12 pm

Mary, I am truly impressed with your quality and accuracy of information which is actually accurate for the most part. i have visited your website and find a lot of useful factual data on it.

In response to this post, it would be interesting for you to also post the amount of money spent by your conservative Republican trying to get a non-paying job. I remember the figure being over $17,000.00 during that attempt and probably a similar figure in her first attempt.

I agree more people must vote to have a true representative board, but how in the heck do you know who is a Republican or not in the race.. have you asked them or just guessing .. How many of the current board members are Democrats????

The Trustee election is not based on a party line and it is not required to declare what party one even belongs to.

Mary McGarr Says:

2. April 2011 at 10:41 pm

I believe Ms. Blackman spent about $7,000 when she ran for the Board. You’re off by about ten grand! That’s about what it takes to get elected these days if one is not the incumbent. What she spent exactly is a matter of public record.

What’s it to you what she spent? If she had the money/got donations, that’s what one does–spend it to get elected.

Some people don’t want or need a paying job, so what difference does it make what they spend to be elected as a school board member? Some people are interested in establishing a fair system of governance. Some people think what they believe should be represented on the School Board. And they’re willing to step up, spend the money to try to get elected so they can. What’s not fair is all the fraudulent actions and lies that pop up with every election. You can read about some of those on my web site too.

In a community where most of the people vote for the Republicans, what’s wrong with Republicans wanting to lead the school district which is the biggest governmental entity in the area? I know whether they’re Republicans or Democrats by their voting record. If you want to see it, it’s on my web site: http://www.marymcgarr.com Then go to Katyisd and then board elections You can see there who has voted in which primaries and who doesn’t vote at all. (One’s primary voting record is a matter of public record.) I’m more concerned with those who don’t vote at all. At least the ones who vote in the Democrat Primary care about something! Judy Snyder, the President of the School Board, hasn’t voted in a primary since 1994! How civic minded is that? You should google all of the candidates too. Most of them have a web site that you should see. As a voter you should want to know what their beliefs are before you blindly vote for whomever one of the incumbents tells you to in an email on election day.

Being on the school board isn’t just a social thing–or at least that’s not what it’s supposed to be. It’s not just the next step after one has been a PTA/PTO president. Good school board members spend lots of time reading policy, understanding issues, listening to constituents, protecting students’ rights and voting their consciences–all to make certain that students are provided with a sound, well-funded academic education. They don’t allow themselves to be co-opted by intimidation from other board members or by falling for the ‘Team of Eight’ concept of governance.

As for the school board election not being a partisan race, that only happens if the public allows it. I wish I had known when I ran against David Frishman that he was a Democrat precinct chairman. I would have beaten him by a landslide. In the current race, A. J. Durrani is a Democrat precinct chairman. That matters to me! Candidates don’t file by party affiliation, but that’s because the state legislature allows it to be non-partisan. One of these days they’ll be sorry about that. When people who hold socialist beliefs are setting up the curriculum of the schools, it’s not long before the students BECOME socialists. That’s been happening for a few decades now, and it’s not hard to see the results of that. Look around.

Terri Yanoviak Says:

31. March 2011 at 10:04 pm

@ Mary McGarr. Just to let you know there are more than 3 Republicans running for school board in May. I am a registered Republican.

Mary McGarr Says:

1. April 2011 at 10:45 am

Ms. Yanoviak,

If you are a Republican, why don’t you vote in Republican primaries?

I don’t think we have “registered” Republicans in Texas.

[We never heard from Ms. Yanoviak again! And she STILL hasn't turned in her final TEC reports.]

Below are comments I made on the Instant News Katy web page when the Board suggested that the State was not giving them enough money!

Mary McGarr Says:

21. April 2011 at 4:21 pm Since the 2004-2005 school year, when Katy ISD was getting 28.7% of their total revenue from the State of Texas, mostly increases have been seen in the State’s contribution to our revenue. That’s not what the incumbent school board members or the superintendent will tell us, but look at these FACTS (my sources are the Katy ISD web site, links provided there, and the AEIS reports from TEA).

2004-2005

Total Revenue from all sources: $372,755,008

Revenue coming from the State: $106,992,247

Percentage of Total from State: 28.7%

2005-2006

Total Revenue from all sources: $411,762,743

Revenue coming from the State: $114,612,307

Percentage of Total from State: 27.8%

2006-2007

Total Revenue from all sources: $461,030,870

Revenue coming from the State: $162,763,562

Percentage of Total from State: 35.3%

2007-2008

Total Revenue from all sources: $508,476,714

Revenue coming from the State: $216,105,399

Percentage of Total from State: 42.5%

2008-2009

Total Revenue from all sources: $540,051,149

Revenue coming from the State: $210,251,108

Percentage of Total from State: 38.9%

2009-2010

Total Revenue from all sources: $572,334,109

Revenue coming from the State: $196,102,519

Percentage of Total from State: 34.2%

2010-2011 (Proposed Budget)

Total Revenue from all sources: $558,427,916

Revenue coming from the State: $221,780,025

Percentage of Total from State: 39.7%

Drawing some conclusions, it would appear that while resources from local taxes have declined, the amount from the State appears to be going up! It also should have been abundantly clear to the superintendent and the Board that the drop in revenue from local taxes meant they needed to cut back spending, which they didn’t do.

It would also appear that the lowering of all revenue clearly reflects the overspending by the Federal Government. If the Federal overspending puts our country in an economic downturn, states have a hard time countering that especially with the current administration doing everything they can to undermine and eviscerate the Texas economy. Surely any sane person can see that reflected in his own personal budget.

I would also like to point out that the KISD total revenue until just this year has been increasing mightily, but every year, Superintendent Frailey, with approval of the board members, has been allowed to propose a deficit budget! Of interest to everyone is the fact that our school population only increased by 2,011 students this year, not the 3,500 that KISD administrators like to throw out at us. Last year the increase was 2,253, so it looks like we’re on a downward trend. In our elementary schools, while increasing in population, they are still 936 students under the capacity of the schools we already have. In the last five months our junior highs have only added 30 students and are 1,712 students under capacity as of April 4, 2011. Our high schools are under capacity by 701 students, and we have lost 248 high school students in the last five months (10/29/10 to 4/4/11).

So my question is, when will our superintendent and Board think they have enough money from the State?

And I’ll answer my own question: Never. They will spend whatever they get and always want more.

Mary McGarr Says:

21. April 2011 at 4:36 pm Anyone who thinks as I do, that the $459 million dollar bond referendum in the fall of 2010 was excessive and unnecessary and pushed in a deceptive manner without the Board and the Superintendent informing the public of the impending budget shortfall, will be interested in this list of contributors to the TEAM KATY PAC. These individuals and companies donated (quite legally) thousands of dollars so Rob Carpenter, Joe Simmons, et al, could buy as many signs, make as many robocalls, and send as many mailouts supporting the bond as they wanted.

Below is a listing of contributors so that KISD residents can know exactly who funded the pro-bond supporters:

Jerry amd Sari Kroll $200.00

G. W. Dugger $50.00

Mrs. G. W. Dugger $50.00

Frank L. Lombard $150.00

V. J. and M. McDermott $200.00

Theresa Janda $96.80

Ben Harrrison $970.70

Paul Flattery $96.80

G. W. Dugger $50.00

Mrs. G. W. Dugger $50.00

David Frishman $100.00

HVJ Associates $500.00

Upchurch Kimbrough, LTD $5,000.00

Headwaters Construction Materials, LLC $5,000.00

City Masonry, Inc $2,500,00

Winco Masonry, LP $2,500.00

Acme Brick Company $1,000.00

PBK Architects, Inc. $298.00

Gilbane Building Company $5,000.00

Bates & Coleman Professional Corp. $1,000.00

Global Exploration Consultants, Inc. $500.00

D & H Masonry, Inc. $500.00

Camarata Masonry Systems $500.00

Parkside Capital, LLC $5,000.00

Stephen G. or Louise L. Sweet $1,000.00

JDC/Firethorne, LTD $5,000.00

Trendmaker Homes, Inc. $10,000.00

West Belt Surveying, Inc. $1,000.00

Prozin, Inc. $1,000.00

Newland Real Estate Group, LLC $12,000.00