BFTSP

And yet another calendar proposed….

The BISD board packet received Friday had yet another version of the “ending in May” calendar for consideration.  This in spite of the fact that the board president assured the audience at the last meeting that the decision would be made on March 2  for one of the two proposed calendars that were presented. 

BUT WAIT… there is yet another calendar and the vote will be Monday, February 22 at 5:00 and not on March 2 during the regular meeting.

The #3 “ending in May” calendar is closer to the DEIC proposed calendar….Maybe if we postpone the vote for another two weeks it will morph into the DEIC calendar.  The DEIC is the best calendar and if the “ending in May” calendar keeps improving it will be the same calendar as the DEIC calendar but it will go three days into June and it won’t be “ending in May”.

Date for vote changed….

The vote for the calendar has been changed to February 22 at 5:00.  This date was a “goal-setting” meeting for the school board.  Since all board members could be at this meeting and not the March 2, the board president decided to put the 2010-2011 calendar on the agenda for a public meeting.  The vote will take place at 5 (not 6).  Be there to support the DEIC calendar.  Don’t be late or you will miss the whole meeting!

Verrrry Interesting……

But stupid.  For those who remember Laugh-in, I hope you remember Arte Johnson saying this.  Well that is what came to mind to me as I start this entry.

Here is the background.  The District Education Improvement Council, which is made of  BISD teachers, administrators, and community members was charged with developing a calendar for the 2010-11 school year.  The chairman was Sharyn Sharp, teacher at Griffith and wife of Bobby Sharp, board member.  The committee studied the issues, the parameters and asked for input from the campuses.  The result was a list of priorities which were:

1. 2 weeks Winter Break
2. 1 week Spring Break
3. 3 day Thanksgiving
4. 1 Holiday between Labor Day and Thanksgiving (#4 & #5 tied)
5. Monday holiday after Easter (#4 & #5 tied)
6. Ending school before June 1

At the board meeting in January, there were two calendars presented, the DEIC Recommended Calendar and a calendar which was requested by Jay Luce that would have school ending in May.  This “other” calendar did not include Martin Luther King, Jr. Day nor President’s day and had some other differences (see below).  Mr. Luce was not at the meeting in January and although I made the motion to accept the DEIC Recommended Calendar, I moved to table the vote on the calendar since Mr. Damian wanted more time to review the newly proposed calendar. 

There was a good deal of discussion in the community and in BFT about the calendars after the January meeting.  So, lo and behold when I received the board packet of information before the February meeting, there was a change in the “ending in May” calendar.  MLK day was included as a student holiday and SD/Comp day. 

So at the school board meeting last evening (2/2/2010) there was a standing room only crowd of teachers and community members that were concerned about MLK day not being included and/or  the ditching of the DEIC Recommended Calendar.  But MLK  was now included.  Pastor Sandy White spoke first and so eloquently.  It was a beautiful speech…what a gifted speaker.  He knew about the recent change to include MLK but he spoke up for the DEIC calendar in its entirety.  I was overwhelmed with gratitude  that he was speaking to the DEIC process, both holidays (MLK and President’s Day) as well as the benefits of the three day weekends spread throughout the year for families. 

There were a couple of others that spoke that were defending MLK, not aware beforehand that it was now included in both calendars. 

Then Becky Orr came forward as a teacher/parent/community member and she was fantastic.  She pointed out the  educational  issues, family issues and she made a wonder case for the DEIC calendar process.  She deserves our praise and support for standing up in this jammed packed room and speaking for the teachers, the DEIC and  its calendar that met the parameters and priorities.

So the stage is set.  It is tense and you should have been there to feel and taste the atmosphere.  Jay Luce read an email from Joel Welch that  said he  favored the “ending in May” calendar.  I made the motion for the DEIC calendar, Jay Grable seconded  it.  Discussion continued and the vote was called..   The vote was 3 to 3.  Those in favor of the DEIC Recommended Calendar were Jay Grable, Ron Damian and me.  Those opposed were  Jay Luce, Bobby Sharp and Mario Martinez.  Then a motion was made for the “ending in May’” calendar.  The votes against it were Jay Grable, Ron Damian and me.  So neither calendar was approved. 

The calendar question will be presented again at the next meeting.   

Why ditch the DEIC Recommended calendar and “dis” the work of the DEIC  for a calendar that is ill conceived  and the only reason for its existence is “ending  in May”?   Does that have any educational value?  Is there something magic in not going to school in June?  Do we need this drama and decisiveness over a day and a half in June?  Now what was that phrase from Laugh-In?

Here are the differences in the calendars:

A perfect storm, but not a perfect calendar…..

There are two calendars that were discussed at the Board Meeting. I made a motion to accept the DEIC-recommended calendar.  The motion was seconded by Jay Grable.  After discussion, I was not sure that there were enough votes to approve it.  One board member, Ron Damian wanted more time to study the calendar, so I agreed to table the motion until the next meeting.  The motion was tabled. 

In the presentation made by Sharyn Sharp as DEIC spokesperson, she talked about the process of developing the calendar.  It is a difficult task.  There are parameters that must be incorporated; as well as a changing calendar that must be considered. Then calendar issues were prioritized by the committee.  The first priority was 2 weeks off for Christmas/Winter break.  The last of the priorities was getting out in May.  All of the priorities were honored with this calendar except that the last day of school was in June.  The students would be out of school at early dismissal on June 2 and the staff would be out on Friday, June 3.  This is with  Memorial Day as a holiday taken by all on Monday.

 The “ending in May” calendar would have the teachers coming in two days earlier in August and no comp days during the year.  For those who complete staff development in the summer, I am not sure what that means.  There would be no Martin Luther King Day nor President’s Day holiday in the spring semester.  These are both national holidays and the MLK celebration has grown and is well attended  by the community.   These are the two major issues as I see it with this calendar.  With the state guidelines on when school can start, ending in June is a reality for Texas. 

 I know that there are no perfect calendars.  I have lived my whole life on a school district calendar and I have seen it all…semester ending before Christmas break, semester ending after Christmas Break, Thanksgiving break starting on Wednesday at noon, no spring break, weeklong Easter breaks, Fall breaks, there are so many permutations possible.  However, with the state guidelines and the large number of custody/visitation issues, the calendar is a controversial topic every year.  I respect BISD’s effort to have the DEIC committee (made up of teachers, administrators and community members) recommend a calendar.  As I said there are no perfect calendars so in the spirit of involvement of stakeholders and the democratic process,  I believe it is a good calendar.  I support the DEIC-recommended calendar.

 I welcome your input here or feel free to call me or email me with your viewpoint.

Herding cats…

Dr. McNaughten showed an interesting video last night on herding cats.  What?  Yes, in describing the enrollment, membership and trends in BISD school enrollments he likened it to herding cats.  I found it interesting that everyday about 90 students come and go in BISD.  Other interesting agenda items were non-existent but included tax collections, funding update and the consent agenda.

Questions continue…

One of the questions about the Bond Election that I have received is, Will we use the same architect and construction companies this time?  It seems that some were not happy with the process or the results.  I was employed at Brazosport High School during the building/rebuilding of that campus.  My experience was not good.  It seemed that every day instruction was disrupted by construction issues, such as no water, no electricity, no a/c, don’t go here, move there….it was continual.  Instruction was disrupted and probably to the detriment of the school and its accountability ratings.

Here is the answer.  The archectural firm that was used last time was PBK.  The construction firm was Drymalla.  PBK has conducted the master plan process, voluntarily and free to the district.  When the bond is passed, the BISD administration will interview firms and proposals and make a recommendation to the Board about an architect and subsequently a construction firm.

Please post your questions.

You are awesome…

To all of you who have expressed your gratitude and thanks to me on  the salary scale issue, I thank you.  Your support through email and calls has been very uplifting.  The support has come from BFT members and others, as well.  I was reminded by the comment in The Facts today of the many times in our history that promises have been made to take care of issues “in the future”.   ”It’s just not the right time” shouldn’t work anymore, either.  I hope that everyone in BISD will “Join the Movement for Change“.

Here is the story…

As I expressed earlier, I was concerned that the salary schedule was compressed and that the yearly steps were skewed, see entry  for August 23^rd below.

I made a motion to adopt the “optional” salary schedule (which would have improved it)  and it died for a lack of second.  The motion was then made to adopt the “recommended” salary schedule by a vote of 6 to 1. 

I did my best to make the case that the time was right for correcting the schedule and that in light of the improved test scores on many campuses, the improvement in the attendance rate by the staff, the concessions made to sick leave and to health insurance, and the savings accrued there , that it was time to make a change.  It was not a cure but it was a start.

The next meeting will be on September 1^st.  I hope to see you there.

I hope that you will express yourself in comments below.

Wish you had been there…

I wish you had been at the BISD board meeting last night.  Those who were there learned  a lot.  My thanks and appreciation to those who were at the meeting.  I will report in a later post the results of the meeting.  Next Tuesday is the next BISD board meeting and the “master plan” (a.k.a plan for bond issue) will be discussed and if the board approves it, an election will be called for November.  So clear your calendar and be there.  Don’t miss this opportunity for an enlightening educational experience.

An interesting bit of news

The amount that is estimated to be placed in the reserve funds (fund balance) for the 2008-2009 is between 2-3 million.  The district estimated last year that we would be able to put $243,584 away but we were fortunate to save  a much larger amount. 

This makes the “optional salary schedule” look much better since the fund balance was enhanced last school year and it continues to improve.

See you at the meeting, Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.