MissouriCityChatter: FBISD Candidates Piece in the FB SUN (click on title link to see the article)-

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

FBISD Candidates Piece in the FB SUN (click on title link to see the article)-

It would be nice if Mayor Owen would take this pledge like Poats has!

12 Comments:

Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; 2:55 PM
Anonymous said...: It's good to see so many following Mitton's lead, a hard act to follow!; 2:57 PM
Anonymous said...: Previous updated thread on this related issue (notice who keeps threatening opposition candidates for telling all):

Anonymous said...
Recent FBNow.com related comments:

1 Chris Calvin, Ph.D. - Mar 10, 05:58 am
As an educator for nearly two decades in K-12 and later at the college level I wanted to take a moment to congratulate Liz on her seeking this position on the board. Her grass-roots involvement has helped ground her in the growth problems now facing our school district and area. I truly feel she will make the best and most committed reform minded representative currently running in the race. She won’t bow down to out-of-area special interest and will make earnest efforts to improve the schools for all children.

Give ‘em hell Liz in ‘06 and good luck!

2 Susan - Mar 10, 06:08 am
I commend the decision that Mrs. Mitton will not report for FortBendNow since she has filed as a candidate for FBISD trustee. We will look forward to Mr. Dunn’s more balanced reporting.

What does it mean that Mitton will “stop actively posting on Save Our Schools”? Will she only post under an alias? Will she continue to be the chairperson and spokesperson for the “committee”? Will she continue to provide the “committee” with information gathered from her personal contacts on the BOT?

Mrs. Mitton is the ONLY face associated with the so-called Save Our Schools “committee.” If there are other members, they have chosen to remain well hidden behind her coattails. Will she reveal the names of others who will now be in control of the content of that blog? If not, then most will assume that the so-called committee remains under the control of Mrs. Mitton and should be considered part of her political campaign.

3 William but you can call me "Bill" - Mar 10, 06:15 am
Liz

Please tell us where you stand with Lisa Rickert and her posse, Bryant, Caldwell and McGee?

4 SugarBabe - Mar 10, 07:05 am
Wayne Howard is a former Elkins Coach.

5 TedSilver - Mar 10, 07:08 am
Mr. Dunn,

Are you planning to give equal time to the other candidates???? I’d like to see an article about each of the candidates…
I am one of the many who is quite upset by the fiasco created by the new board members in Fort Bend ISD. So far, there are 3 major companies that have chosen to relocate elsewhere because of the current state of affairs on our school board – not the district, but the Board of Trustees! These accounts to millions of lost dollars in revenue for the businesses within the district’s boundaries. It’s time for the citizens and taxpayers to wake up and see the long-term impact that these 4 newest board members have caused!

Citizens beware: Liz Mitton is part of the problem!

6 Bob Dunn - Mar 10, 07:50 am
Ted, FortBendNow has a standing policy of accepting and publishing an official announcement from any candidate who provides us with one, just as was done for all candidates in the run-up to the primaries.

Mr. Smelley and Mr. Howard have not yet provided such announcements but we certainly welcome them and will publish their announcements if they choose to provide them.

SugarBabe, thanks for providing that correction. It has been made.

Susan, my understanding is that Ms. Mitton intends to stop all posting on Save Our Schools, but that the site may remain visible yet static.

7 Georgie - Mar 10, 08:23 am
I find it interesting that Susan posts using a pseudo and then criticizes Liz for posting that way. 90% of all internet posting uses pseudos. I also find it hard to blame this BOT for the obvious growth issues that are negatively impacting the schools and our children. I think out of all the candidates she may be the most controversial but also one of the most grounded in the issues and will be an improvement over the special interests that have been runing our boards here for the last decade. Good luck Liz! I don’t always agree with you but you are sincere in your efforts.

8 Matthew Feinberg - Mar 10, 08:36 am
Way to go Liz! You have my support 1000%. We need sane people with education experience to take the lead.

9 Sam Raia - Mar 10, 11:22 am
Liz Mitton is one of the most knowledgable, intelligent , fair minded, and qualified person concerning school board issues. I along with many others wish you well. Ignore the critics as they have no idea of the understanding you have of these issues. Thanks for wanting to serve.

10 John - Mar 10, 01:20 pm
Ted Silver,

Name the 3 major companies you say have recently chosen to locate elsewhere.

11 Susan - Mar 10, 02:19 pm
Will/Bill,

Liz Mitton is a big supporter of Rickert, Caldwell, Bryant and Magee. Just read her blog for proof. I belive she has been especially close to Stan Magee until he decided not to support Rickert in firing Eva Jackson’s firm.

12 Bob Elberger - Mar 10, 05:35 pm
Good luck to all the candidates who are running for this non-paid highly demanding position. Public debate concerning the oversight of the largest taxing jurisdiction in this county is a positive thing. Thank you all for your willingness to serve this community.

13 Jean Charuk - Mar 10, 05:44 pm
Why is Liz running against Wayne Howard, Magee’s best buddy? Must be trouble in paradise.

14 newguard - Mar 11, 08:01 am
Looks like some of the political elites (like Susan) are up to their usual games. Who created the mantra that only the “politcal insiders” get to run. This district has been under growth pressure from the Houston developers for some time and the old guard simply went along with it. Maybe now something will get done and not in the business as usual fashion.

15 Susan - Mar 11, 08:41 am
Newguard,
If you had been in the district any time at all, you would know that anyone who desires can and does run for FBISD trustee—from bus drivers to business people to homemakers. You seem to resent people pointing out Mitton’s political alliances. Why is that?

With the current fiasco in FBISD, the utmost question on most voters’ minds is whether a candidate will support Rickert, Caldwell, Bryant and Magee in their efforts to remove most of FBISD’s administration, or whether they will work with the educational professionals toward a common goal of quality education. Once that question has been answered, then most voters will make their decision.

Please tell me what one thing (other than ensuring that businesses do not choose to locate in FBISD) have Rickert, Caldwell, Magee and Bryant done to deal with the “growth pressure from the Houston developers”? What do you think a member of a school board can do? I think you should be looking at your elected state representatives and senators and asking the same questions. They are the ones who have the power to assist school districts with growth, but they have refused to act.

16 Newguard - Mar 11, 09:03 am
Susan,

It’s no secret that you are a party insider and one of the old guard that helped create the current problems that this BOT has been trying to address. By your support of those that did not address the real issues it becomes easy to point the finger at those who are trying to. I’m convinced that you and much of your group are part of the problem and I will get as many neighbors out to support real reform minded candidates and certainly not “old guard” political types like you who rely on the special interest monies.

BTW do you live in this forum or just monitor it for your group?

17 Susan - Mar 11, 09:26 am
I speak only for myself. Unlike Mitton and the various “committees” that have sprung up, I do not have a group nor do I claim my comments represent the beliefs of others.

You did not answer my questions. What have your “new guard” allies done to help with the pressures of growth and what did the old, evil former trustees fail to do? All I can see out of Rickert, Caldwell, Bryant and Magee is a massive exodus out of FBISD—forced and voluntary—with no apparent plan for replacements. Do they think they can run the district without assistance of professionals?

18 Bob Dunn - Mar 11, 03:37 pm
Ted Silver, you’ve now submitted two libelous comments under two different names.

And since you provided two bogus email addresses, this is the only method I have of informing you that, as is clearly stated below, libelous comments and personal attacks won’t be published here.

19 maized&cornfused - Mar 11, 09:09 pm
please let us know the two names being posted from, so the public can consider the source. I use this site to get info and I don’t want to be fooled by multiple postings.

20 Bob Dunn - Mar 11, 10:52 pm
The only name with a visible post is Ted Silver.

21 Liz Mitton - Mar 11, 11:03 pm
I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support I have received in just the first few days of my campaign. Thank you to all above who are supporting me. If you would like more information about me or my campaign, I have a campaign website at: www.lizmittoncampaign.blogspot.com

22 Carrie - Mar 12, 12:08 am
Jean,

Liz is not running against Wayne Howard. She is running FOR the school board. Does the difference need to be pointed out more clearly. Liz realizes that the best way to get something done is to do it yourself. Electing Liz will add a key piece to the forward movement of the FBISD that has been missing for many years. As for trouble in paridise, Liz is profressional enough to know that she is not always going to agree with every dicission a board member makes but will continue to respect them without the unfounded mud slinging that Susan throws so freely. Wake up and look at the issues, not the gossip. Unless you have had the pleasure of knowing Liz on a personal level, you will never understand the passion she holds for the children of our community, all of the children.

23 Susan - Mar 12, 07:09 am
Carrie,
Mudslinging – using offensive epithets and invective especially against a political opponent

Please delineate what in my posts you define as “mud-slinging.” I believe I stated the following facts and/or personal opinions:
1. I commended the decision for Mitton not to write for Mr. Dunn while a candidate.
2. Liz Mitton is the only revealed name associated with the so-called “Save Our Schools Committee”. If there are more people involved, they hide behind Mrs. Mitton.
3. For Mitton to continue to operate the Save Our Schools blog would be improper (as currently run, probably a violation of campaign laws) and that fact is supported by Mitton’s decision to freeze all activity on the site.
4. Mitton has been a supporter of Rickert, Caldwell Bryant and Magee—documented by her “articles” and postings on SOS.
5. Mitton has allowed bloggers to post comments very critical of Magee since he took $1500 in campaign contributions from Eva Jackson and then voted to continue the contract with her firm.
6. The forced and voluntary exodus of professional educators out of FBISD will be a pivotal issue in the upcoming campaigns and whether a candidate supports that course of action by the current BOT will be a key factor for many voters. Mitton has publicly advocated the removal of much of the senior staff in FBISD.
7. Contrary to statements made by some, school board members do not have the ability to force developers to donate lands to schools, nor do they have the power to prevent developers from purchasing land and subdividing it for sale. All this power resides within the Texas legislature and none of our local elected representatives have introduced any legislation to assist Fort Bend schools with the problems associated with explosive growth.
8. It is my opinion that Mrs. Mitton has chosen to include or exclude information on her blog based upon her personal biases/opinions/agendas. Before she enabled administrator approval, frequently comments that were unflattering to the “new guard” were posted and then removed by the administrator (Mitton), even if they were factual and not libelous.

Please tell me which of these statements you consider offensive epithets and invective?

24 JLS - Mar 12, 09:20 am
Susan,

The fact that contributions from the developer’s go directly to some of the candidates you support removes you as an unbiased critique of Mitton or any independent candidate. The election/political machine industry is part of the problem. Liz has operated separate from that for many years and that is her strength! Cronies and pol. hacks must go the way of the dinosaur. They are the real problem that filters up to our legislature and keeps this crowd in power. Control must be returned to the voter and taken from the small circle of elites that now control our fate and our communities. Increaing voter turn-out via interest from grass-roots groups is all too American and predates the current election industry (something old but sincere). Go Liz!

25 Carrie - Mar 12, 09:28 am
While you have your dictionary out look up opinion and fact. Maybe you should borrow one, as your’s seems to be the only one where opinion and fact have the same meaning. You have way too much time on your hands. Try to spend some of it helping our community. That is what I will be doing by supporting Liz Mitton 100%. Not by wasting my time responding to any more of your “opinion/facts”.

26 Susan - Mar 12, 11:19 am
JLS,
Excuse me? Please provide the reading audience with a list of candidates I supported that have taken taken money from developers? Every school board candidate I have personally endorsed has been primarily self financed or gotten most of their meager donations in small checks from ordinary parents.

The last time I remeber developers being active in FBISD politics, Jane Clarke defeated the developer backed David Gornet from New Territory and I was firmly in Jane’s court.

You, sir, are stating false information.
27 Susan - Mar 12, 01:17 pm
Carrie,
To help you with your confusion, number 1 above is my opinion, 2 though 7 are stated facts and number 8 states my opinion (denoted as such) about a fact.

Instead of explaining what I have said that you consider “mud-slinging” you have chosen to make derogatory remarks and judgements about me even though you do not know me or what I have done to “help our community”.

I too will be working hard in the FBISD election, but due to the facts enumerated above, I will not be supporting Mrs. Mitton.

28 Liz Mitton - Mar 12, 05:02 pm
I have never publicly (or privately for that matter) advocated the removal of “much of the senior staff” in FBISD. That statement is patently false.

29 voterwise - Mar 12, 06:46 pm
Sounds like the repubs need another secretary too. Isn’t Gillen endorsing like Thode did? Go Linda Howell, Mitton, Poats and all the real people!

VOTE..VOTE..VOTE..VOTE..

30 John - Mar 14, 09:17 am
Susan,

After watching Liz Mitton at work in our community for several years now, it is important for you to understand her true motives in running for a position on the BOT.

Go to Dulles Elementary, Dulles Middle School and Dulles High Schools. Ask what contributions Liz Mitton has made to each school during the past 12 years. I can fill in some of the blanks for you:

1. Organized and runs the Dulles Elementary Talent Show
2. Organized and ran the Dulles Middle School Talent Show for three years and, get this, turned it into a money making event for the school!
3. Created “The Write Stuff” program at Dulles Elementary a few years ago in an effort to get children writing to the best of their abilities. It is a program that has been copied by others.
4. LIz is currently on a parent committee at Dulles High School that is working to reduce the violence on campus.
5. Lead the effort to put walls up in Dulles Elementary so that children could have the kind of environment they needed to learn.
6. There are many more activities that Liz carries out quietly behind the scenes that no one ever hears about.

Simply by observing Ms. Mitton’s actions and activities it is readily apparent that she is all about making things better for our children, our teachers, our schools and our community.

Liz doesn’t talk about making things better, like so many others do. Liz jumps in with both feet, gets her hands dirty and gets the job done.

You asked in one of your postings about her alliances and wanting to get rid of senior administrators. Based on watching her in action I would have to guess that she wouldn’t care if you were from Mars if you were competent and got the job done. It’s not about alliances, seniority, etc. It’s about getting people in place who get the work done, who are not side tracked by their own delusional visions of grandeur or personal agendas or getting hand outs from vendors doing business with FBISD and/or the community.

In my opinion, Liz Mitton wil be a welcome addition to the BOT.

31 Susan - Mar 14, 10:00 am
Unfortunately, John, you and I will never agree on this subject. You are right about Mitton jumping in with both feet—but IMHO she often jumps into areas where she doesn’t know what she doesn’t know. When people do that, they often cause irreparable harm with the best of intentions. That is the current situation we face after Rickert, Caldwell, Bryant and Magee’s hostile take over and Mitton has repeatedly voiced her wholehearted agreement with the unilateral and arrogant tactics employed by these four.

32 John - Mar 14, 10:04 am
Ted Silver,

We are still waiting for you to name the three major companies who recently chose not to relocate to Sugar Land area.

33 JLS - Mar 15, 07:31 am
She can’t Ted because Ms. Johnson works for the party elites that put out this spin to keep the grass-roots crowd in check. You know the crowd that has the money and pulls the strings of the former republican county chair position and hers. That’s why you see her posting on every “old guard” issue.

34 Susan - Mar 15, 08:42 am
JLS,
Take off the blinders and try reading what is posted before ascribing conspiracy theories to everything.

First, it seems you are confused about who I am. I did not post that 3 companies have decided not to come to Fort Bend County. Like Ted, I have personally heard members of the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce and city councilmen state that more than one company has decided not to locate here due to the bad press engendered by Rickert, Caldwell, Bryant, Magee and Mitton. However, since I do not have personal knowledge of those facts, I chose not to post it. I leave the spreading of rumor and innuendo to others.

However, this should be good news to the anti-evil Houston developer crowd. Fewer jobs means fewer houses and apartments built in Fort Bend.

35 Eric - Mar 15, 01:43 pm
Susan,
Your sweeping generalizations in the last two postings remind me of the old expression, “A lie can travel around the world six times before the truth has a chance to put on it’s boots.”

Your misrepresentation of the facts is deplorable:

1. There was no “hostile takeover.” It was called an “election.”

2. Mitton has not “repeatedly voiced her wholehearted agreement with the unilateral and arrogant tactics employed by these four.” That’s “Old Guard” rhetoric. Quite the contrary, Mitton’s save-our-schools.blogspot.com/has several articles and postings nailing Magee and Bryant for personal conduct, questionable campaign contributions, etc. For example, Magee is taken to task for his short-sightedness in starting the next school year on August 9th which will cost taxpayers thousands of dollars from the state that should have gone to our children, our teachers and our schools. Magee and Bryant’s questionable support of the current JOC agreement has also come under scrutiny, including links between the JOC vendor and campaign contributions to Magee.
Mitton supports getting the district back in shape and is not bound by cronyism as we have seen in years past.

3. Your “jumping in” comment smacks of the “Good Old Boy” thought process. If Mrs. Mitton had not “jumped in”:

a. Dulles Elementary would still be without walls.

b. Audit findings would not have been addressed in a public manner, but would have continued to be swept under the rug.

c. Charles DuPree would still be getting away with questionable financial practices. (Still waiting for the results of that criminal investigation, Mr. Healy…)

d. Betty Baitland would still be conducting business in a manner that subsequent investigations have revealed to be questionable, inept and irresponsible.

e. Vendors would be getting away carte blanche instead of being held accountable for results and conduct. As in possibly using fraudulent documents to land a government contract.

4. As far as the remarks you have personally heard from the Chamber and City Council, all I can say is that you need to widen your circle of contacts. Two nights ago I was sitting with a group of parents while our kids had their swimming competition. The talk turned to FBISD. Several parents discussed how they used to live in Houston but when it was time for their children to start First Grade eight to ten years, rather than put them in Houston schools they moved to Ft Bend because they heard the schools were better. To a parent, everyone lamented that decision. “If we had only known we were being sold a bill of goods ten years ago, we never would have come here in the first place!” Bad press and bad feelings can’t be blamed on current BOT. It falls squarely on the shoulders of FBISD administrators and former BOT members who, instead of doing the right things, insisted on operating under a veil of secrecy, deception and misconduct.

Susan, instead of sweeping generalities you will be better off stating specifics. As in “Liz Mitton will be a great addition to the FBISD BOT.” It’s about time we had someone on the BOT who isn’t afraid to kick some rumps, demand fiscal responsibility and accountability, and lead the charge for more open governance.

36 JLS - Mar 15, 03:15 pm
And now she shows the true colors by defending those responsible for the stress the district is undergoing. Rather than accept that the over-development issue is valid Ted you notice she decides to point the finger at the volunteers trying to correct the problem. She even uses the Hebert words (another heavily backed developer-politician) “conspiracy theory” to marginalize, alienate, rather than identifying the political-business networks operating here with vested interest at pushing a district image that probably hasn’t existed since we moved into the top ten enrollments in the state. As she knows this level of growth may be good for business but not over-crowded underperforming school districts. The current board can be given credit for at least standing up and trying to recognize & correct the longterm problems that were created after years of the old guard neglect.

Just follow the money and the networks are exposed.—Not even a good try Susan J.

37 Susan - Mar 15, 06:40 pm
WOW! I am going to order my super duper anti-alien, anti-developer tin foil hat right away. With so many of you believing this stuff, maybe the rest of the world is wrong and the conspiracy theorists are right…..........

38 Carrie - Mar 16, 12:01 am
Why wait for delivery when you can just have Scotty beam you back up to your imaginary world and get one tonight.

39 JLS - Mar 16, 07:47 am
Very intelligent response susan the insider. Defender of the old guard! Many feel this way because just a few months back your crony friends tried to put out counter spin to the district investigations that were on-going and focussing on your buddies. I even remember reading the dynamic trio release of Herb, Wallace & Owen trying to tell the community to only believe the “good news” that is reported and for newspapers to stop reporting the negative news (I believe that was Owen’s actual statement). Now that was a brilliant move by your friends…telling newspapers to stop printing the truth. Certainly no surprise and again not a “conspiracy” as your folks like to call it but it does fit the PR spin being put out by you and your small elite clique which feels control of this area slipping away. That’s why they are reverting to bully-boy tactics and turning the dogs (lawyers) loose on good people trying to do a difficult job.

One last thought. These type of tactics have been tried in many communities across this country and are well documented. No one is fooled and these actions will only further turn the rest of the community against the clique. Take care and good luck on your trip after he beams you up!

40 schoolwise - Apr 4, 10:49 am
What happened to Susan? Did she get “beamed up? It was just getting good in here!

41 Chris Calvin, Ph.D. - Apr 14, 08:08 am
Go Liz! I look forward to hearing you speak at the developer/SPRAI sponsored candidates forum here in Missouri City soon (April 24th at 7p. at the developers/SPRAI clubhouse off Sienna Parkway).

4:50 AM

Anonymous said...
Or these (FBNow.com):

1 Susan - Apr 17, 09:56 am
Another example of Dr. Pedraza being in over her head. Rickert, Caldwell, Magee and Bryant rushed to get Dr. Baitland out the door and now with Rickert and Pedraza in control, things are falling through the cracks—like justification for the lawyer position.

I wonder if the district does hire another attorney whether Rickert will listen to them or whether she will continue her habit of only listening to her personally selected outside law firm.

2 cutthefat - Apr 17, 03:28 pm
I find it interesting what you picked up from the article. What stands out to me is why in the world does the district hire custodians, cafeteria workers and bus drivers when we should be outsourcing everything that is not core to education and where ever it makes economic sense. We need to try to eliminate employment liability. I hear we own our own garbage trucks, what a joke! What next the FBISD Fire Department? The FBISD police force should only be for the protection of our students, not 24 by 7 coverage, that is what we pay county and city taxes for. Let’s put an end to the kingdom and resume building and cut the fat so we can put the money in the class room where it belongs.

3 Al Thompson - Apr 18, 12:35 am
I couldn’t help but cringe at the last board meeting when I heard an administrator say that the reason for a budget oversite was that they had new people working on the matter. With turnover where it is it’s just a matter of time before the walls fall in on Team Rickert. At that point the district will be forced to outsource even the most basic things like setting calendars.

4 schoolwise (55) - Apr 18, 05:51 am
Good point cutthefat but Susan has her own personal axe to grind and is doing so for the special interest. They got to take back what was “theirs” so they can increase the pork to their clique!

5 Susan - Apr 18, 08:09 am
schoolwise,
Previous comments were critical of the way FBISD is running. Your friends are in charge and have the power to change/fire anyone they want. So you try to change the subject?

6 dk - Apr 18, 03:41 pm
Watching this debate is quite interesting. Those who are posting here who are pro the new majority should note that the whole agenda of the new majority when they gained control was to cut the fat, stop the waste and improve the rating of our school district. Since they have come into power, they have increased spending, wasted time on trivial personal agendas, lost employees, increased spending on attorney fees, delayed new school construction to the tune of $400,000 per building and lost the ability to control our own school calendar, just to name a few items. As a taxpayer, i am all for less spending, but more importantly as a parent, I am for bringing quality education to the children of this district and making sure we have the best teachers and administrators we can find. There is no evidence that the new majority has done one thing to bring this to pass. We need school board members who know how to properly run this rapidly growing district, not those who have such limited agendas they are not capable of moving forward. Let’s focus on the real issues at hand and recognize the huge mess we have on our hands. If you think what is going on is good, you are not watching what is going on right in front of you. Our district was once a model of quality. Now, we are somewhat of an amusement to other districts in this area and across the state. This will be a real limiting factor when it comes to bringing in highly qualified administrators and teachers as our district continues to grow. Let’s pay attention and fix this mess while we still have time.

7 C Jones - Apr 18, 07:52 pm
Ms. Johnston,
Instead of throwing barbs in cyberspace, why don’t you meet individually with the board members that you are not happy with and articulate your thoughts to them? I have heard that these types of attacks are your typical mode of operation and that you are not really interested in working out solutions with those you disparage. I would also ask that you stop speaking on behalf of the teachers and staff, since you do not seem to have a clue as to reality.
C Jones

8 schoolwise - Apr 18, 08:52 pm
Interesting attempt to point the finger at the new BOT for decades of neglect dk (that is now well documented . . even on this site, see the investigations). You also fail to mention the excessive growth that put the district in this mess (the over-crowding). This BOT has had to try and fix a status quo bunch that played patty cake with the old guard special interests and now have several candidates spinning this kind of “blame game tripe”. Granted this BOT isn’t perfect, but they are independent and with Bain leaving, the last of the big developer-backed candidates on the board, it should get better as long as his replacement, Smelley, doesn’t get in and turn the clock back. Again I would suggest reading the articles available at this site (and others) for the real story and to then get the contributors lists and see who is hiding behind which candidates. I would even put money on dk being one of those special interest people. How about it dk? Fess up. AND no I never voted for these board members but I won’t try to blame them for the long slow slide of the district. Many former suburban districts have gone through this over-development and lost their prior reputations in the process while leaders tried to keep the news quiet so it wouldn’t hurt home sales.

Is this about our kids or about image?

9 dk - Apr 19, 08:37 am
Schoolwise – -

I thiink you miss my point. It seems that many people on this site and elsewhere are always casting blame for this and that. In fact, this new BOT majority did a lot of blaming before and after they took control. Since that day, you cannot point to one positive development that has come as a result of their actions. I am all for change, but wholesale change without a plan always leads to confusion and a lack of direction. That is what we have now. The BOT is supposed to be a group of seven individuals that oversee the progress of the District, and set a general guideline for the future leadership and financial commitments the District needs to make. Again, you cannot point to a single instance where this has taken place. We have too many personal agendas represented by this group. The only agenda item should ultimately be the best education of our kids.
If the BOT members have the right experience base, all of the other financial and administrative issues will fall into place. You say that this is normal for rapid growth districts, and that it is something we will just have to endure to get to a better place. I just don’t see that progress has to involve the destruction of not only the house, but the foundation.
I think you would be surprised who I am. I am certainly not one of the “special interest” people you refer to, whoever they are. One thing we have in common is support for Steve Smelley. Not sure where you come down on the other slot?

Your last question intrigues me. At the bottom line, it is always about kids. However, the reputation of this District is a key determining factor in the quality of teachers and administrators we are able to attract. In my view, if we have problems lets fix them, but not in a way that erodes and destroys the great reputation of our schools and community.

10 Bart Hatfield - Apr 19, 09:21 am
For those who want to learn more about the candidates, come to the New Territory Club on April 20 at 7:30 pm. for the annual forum.

11 schoolwise - Apr 19, 12:38 pm
dk,

We don’t agree on who to support unless that was a misprint on your part. I am not a Smelley supporter and if people follow his history with the district they will know why they may want to consider other candidates. You know the ones who have sworn off the vending and special interest funding for a change.

As to your comments about this current BOT not looking out for us that is pure smoke. They are the ones trying to clean up decades of neglect.

And, as to who you are, this is not important and please do not try and misparaphrase what I’ve said or haven’t said to suit your purpose. Very poor debating tactic. Also, I might add, that they haven’t tried to hide the problems like former BOTs from the media, as suggested in earlier newspapers at the end of ‘05 (by some of our vaulted leaders). This isn’t just about the board!

12 Susan - Apr 19, 02:07 pm
dk,
You will never get the kool aid drinking gang of 4 supporters like “schoolwise” to admit that any of that bunch has ever made a mistake in their lives. Nor will Caldwell, Bryant, Magee or Rickert accept any responsibility. It’s always someone else’s fault—the mean old guard, the administration, “special interests” (whatever that may be—even greedy developers want good schools). Why, the TEA is responsible for the failure to adopt a reasonable calendar in a timely fashion—said Mr. Magee.

13 followthemoney - Apr 19, 02:40 pm
Does anyone have the latest campaign finance fillings from FBISD? If so please share.

14 Susan - Apr 19, 04:57 pm
Mr. Hatfield,
Is it true that the New Territory Political Action Committee has already interviewed candidates prior to the forum tomorrow night? Have you picked your “slate” already? Is it a waste of time for anyone other than your anointed to appear? How much money do you propose to spend on this school board election and how much did you spend on the primary election plus run-off? Reached that magical $500 yet?

15 schoolwise - Apr 19, 05:40 pm
Interesting seeing Susan, of the “old guard”, chiming in and attempting to misinterpret others posts again. It’s even more amusing watching her lame attempt to defend the developers (she even uses their language). Of course they want the image of better schools as long as it doesn’t cost them anything. Get the legislature to require them to kick-in on school start up and watch the lobby go to work. . . right Susan?

followthemoney, you are asking the right questions, but Susan and her group won’t post it.

16 Robert Cocheu - Apr 19, 06:45 pm
I have been reading everything with great interest. Let’s start with some basic suppositions.

1. The overcrowding and lack of a long range plan falls squarely on “old guard” BOT and the administration.

2. None of the problems that anyone lists started May 1, 2005 when the “new guard” BOT took office. They were there and had been for quite a while.

3. the “new guard” needs to take sole blame (although I think the administration helped them along) with the calendar fiasco.

Those 3 things out of the way, this is my take. This election is a watershed event in FBISD. As such all voters need to be responsible and ask hard questions. Those questions include (but are not limited too)

– What type of Superintendent do we need?
-Where are the various campaigns getting their funding from?
-Who is the major source of support for each of the campaigns (not dollars, leg work)? – What should be done to address our falling standards and to raise the teacher student ratio? – How can the FBISD budget be brought under control?
I would like to challenge each candidate (or their major supporter on this blog) to answer those questions. BTW – I think we deserve REAL answers, not spin, not platitudes, but REAL answers. Post them if you dare. I served as president of my HOA for 5 years and I have a pretty good “spin” detector and I will challenge any answers that are spin.

17 Susan - Apr 19, 06:55 pm
Schoolwise,
Obviously you think you know me. You don’t know me or you would know that I have lobbied for a school impact fee on new homes or for the developers of large subdivisions (such as Sienna, New Territory, First Colony) to be required to donate land to the local ISD’s for schools. I started this effort over 15 years ago. However, our own Charlie Howard’s eyes glazed over every time I mentioned it to him. You do know that Mr. Howard was a developer before he was our State Representative, don’t you?

I was here when the developer of New Territory tried to “stick it” to the taxpayers of FBISD by charging top dollar for land for a middle school. The residents came in droves to board meetings and complained that they were “promised” (by their developer and their Realtors no less) a school in a particular location and wanted the rest of us to pay the exorbitant fee that the developer wanted for the land. FBISD trustees found land elsewhere, purchased the land and built Garcia for about what the NT developer wanted for the land. These were some of you “evil old guard” trustees whom you seem to give no credit or credence to.

I was here when Delores Roberts, Helen Cordes, Jerry Eagleson, Ron Block, Linda Worthy, et al decided to build Lake Olympia Middle School within spitting distance from Quail Valley Middle. I screamed my head off, but it made no difference. Coincidentally, Board President Roberts worked for Lake Olympia Development. The very same night they decided to build Elkins in flood lands on the opposite side of Hwy 6 than where the students who needed it lived and Columbia Blue in an area so low that they had to put in fenced retention ponds on the property. I know all about follow the money.

Please do not patronize me or other citizens who fail to support your candidates or who see things in another light.

18 Burt Levine - Apr 19, 09:10 pm
Robert-I seem to remember you ran for FBISD BOT some years ago. What year was it?

19 Bob Dunn - Apr 19, 09:21 pm
historyunedited:

Your comments as submitted could be construed as libelous. I would have given more detail and told you privately, but the email address you provided was bogus.

20 Bart Hatfield - Apr 19, 10:03 pm
Susan,

None of your statements responding to my NT forum notice are correct. No candidates have been interviewed; all have agreed to come to the event; and we continue to obey all laws

You are welcome to attend the forum.

21 Robert Cocheu - Apr 20, 04:50 am
Thanks for remembering Burt it was 1996.

4:52 AM

Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the blog administrator.

4:52 AM

InternetImposter said...
I noticed from the posts that only Carreon, Mitton & Dieu swore off the "special interest" (out of area) funding. Doesn't Smelley take these monies in his campaign?

5:28 AM

Anonymous said...
From what I heard Smelley actually arranged a fleet of vehicle purchases for the school district from his business and got his wife appointed as the coordinator for the FBISD foundation when he was on the board. Wasn't that nice!

5:35 AM

Anonymous said...
Nice try anonymous.
There was never a purchase of even ONE vehicle from Smelley's employer. Additionally, the FBISD Board has nothing to do with the Education Foundation.

8:16 AM

Anonymous said...
Oh I see so his wife's position with the district foundation and the documented vehicle purchases never happened . . . ;-)

8:19 AM

Anonymous said...
What about this one on Smelley:

Smelley is now backed by Bain and this area's big developer. This can be confirmed by looking at the contributions lists for both of these individuals through an FOIA request from the district or go to the state ethics site to get them (they are required by law to file these). The exiting Bain was receiving funding from mayor Owen (heavily backed by the same developer), the Sienna PAC set-up by the developers (Sienna) and direct contributions from Mr. Goff (former GM-developer of Sienna now at their main offices in Houston).

Of course don't take our word for any of this. Get out and check the facts for yourselves, afterall this is election time and rumors fly, but these are fairly old and easy to verify.

8:29 AM

Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the blog administrator.

8:29 AM

Anonymous said...
Anonymous -- I don't know how to say this ANY simpler. There is no connection between the Education Foundation and FBISD, EXCEPT: they give grants to district teachers and campuses; they office in the Admin bldg. where they pay their own staff and bills. The Education Foundation has a board (of about 40 people, I think) that does its own hiring and determines its own salaries. The district has no say.
And Mrs. Smelley (who is excellent at her job) makes no where NEAR the reported $75,000.

AND...Show us some documentation on the vechicles. I heard this rumor several years ago and checked myself! I called business and finance. There was no purchase.

I'm not asking you to like the guy, just try not to pass on the campaign lies.

8:41 PM

Anonymous said...
C-

You really need to stop trying so hard. This information is well known and has been verified repeatedly. That's why it is still around. As always I encourage those that want confirmation to seek it for themselves. As for your claim that the foundation and the district are legally separate organizations and that "no influence" is at play, well let's just leave it for the public to decide during the election (we know that in this county overlap is common and almost required). I've already made up my mind. I noticed you did nothing to dispel who his backers are, right C?

3:50 AM

Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the blog administrator.

3:50 AM

Anonymous said...
Did any of you catch that this is the same Smelley that was going to run in the Missouri City council sessions in '05? Sounds like another politician backed by questionable special interests just looking for a sounding board/platform to me. Not someone I want claiming he represents the children and families of FBISD. Also didn't he already serve? Do we really need to return to the old board ways? Why was he voted out and why is Bain now endorsing him?

5:49 AM

responsible_dvlpmnt said...
Many have e-mailed and asked for background on candidates (history). We don't archive those type of files here but you might check out the discussion threads going on at FBNow.com. Here is one I think is very helpful bringing information to light on a site that is probably one of the more independent in this county (he doesn't yield to ad pressure or have any hidden agenda):

Blast From The Past - Mar 29, 06:44 am
Position 2
Sue Hauenstein -1,968.
Hal Jay – 1,398.
Jamie Walter – 578.

2 Blast From The Past - Mar 29, 06:54 am
Before the Chopra controversy, Fort Bend County and its communities were basking in the afterglow of favorable national publicity in publications such as The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. Stories called the county the third fastest-growing in the nation, with beautiful planned communities such as First Colony and a diverse, forward-looking school district serving a highly educated population.

The clash between Chopra and trustees—widely blamed on politics and personality rather than differences in \\\”management style and policy issues\\\” as cited by the board—is seen as a major embarrassment to the county.

\\\”This is something I would chastise my children for,\\\” said Jack Molho, 35, a company administrator who ran unsuccessfully for the school board in May after a trustee told him a budget question was none of his business.

\\\”It\\\’s a child\\\’s game. It\\\’s a power play.\\\”

Former board member Helen Cordes, who was on the search committee that hired Chopra in August 1991, called his ouster \\\”totally disastrous.\\\”

\\\”It\\\’s so sad to see this happen,\\\” she said. \\\”Everything has come to a standstill.\\\”

Cordes said Chopra was hired to streamline the district, reorganize and cut back.

\\\”He told us, \\\”You don\\\’t understand how tough this can be,\\\’ \\\” Cordes remembered. \\\”We were naive. He came in and reduced staff in the central administration by almost half. In so doing, you can\\\’t help but step on toes.

Chopra\\\’s supporters—who came to the second meeting wearing \\\”Keep Chopra, Dump the Board\\\” stickers—recite a long list of his accomplishments. Not only did test scores improve during his tenure, especially in the minority schools, but new programs, including a possible technical high school, finally got off the ground.

Janelle Cherry, the trustee who made the motion to extend Chopra\\\’s contract, chose not to run and was replaced by Liz McClean. Two trustees who voted for the extension—Ron Block and Dale Wooten—switched positions last week and joined trustees Jane Clarke, Rita Drabek and board president Hal Jay in voting to get rid of Chopra.

3 Blast From The Past - Mar 29, 07:06 am
Since coming to the fast-growing Fort Bend district in August 1991, Chopra had developed a reputation as an activist superintendent. He had reduced staff in the central administration by almost half. He spoke openly about teen suicides and gang problems in the district. He was a regular participant at town hall meetings.

Evidently, the superintendent also got educational results. His forward-looking methods brought the district favorable national press attention. Test scores improved, particularly in minority schools.

Only last January, Chopra\\\’s contract had been extended through 1998. But in May elections, the trustee who had pushed for the contract extension opted not to run again. Two trustees who had voted for the extension switched their positions and joined those favoring Chopra\\\’s ouster.

Overall, there has been too much secrecy and obfuscation for comfort. Public money—a significant amount of it—is involved. So is the future of 44,000 schoolchildren. The Fort Bend board owes it to the district patrons to explain what is going on.

4 Blast From The Past - Mar 29, 07:17 am
2001
A feisty school board? ... (or how the school board has changed over recent years, or everything you didn’t really want to know.)
Over the past several years, the atmosphere at FBISD school board meetings has changed, as evidenced by the board’s revolt last month concerning curriculum and their insistence in cutting through budgetary concerns.

This has been a slow but growing process on the board’s part and perhaps would not have started if Sue Hauenstein hadn’t defeated the incumbent, who was the husband of a district teacher. Hauenstein began questioning Superintendent Don Hooper, even though he told her to \\\”stop asking so many questions.\\\” She didn’t stop and probably having a cohort in arms helped Jane Clarke to ask more.

5 Blast From The Past - Mar 29, 07:21 am
If Mr. Jay thinks the people of Fort Bend ISD forgot why they voted him out, he is WRONG! He needs to answer some hard questions about his record otherwise he is insulting the intelligence of the community.

6 Indo-FortBend - Mar 29, 08:28 am
Blast From The Past – Of all you posted what caught my attention is
“He had reduced staff in the central administration by almost half. He spoke openly about teen suicides and gang problems in the district. He was a regular participant at town hall meetings.
Evidently, the superintendent also got educational results. His forward-looking methods brought the district favorable national press attention. Test scores improved, particularly in minority schools.”

Being Indo-American I would hope Sonal Bhuchar will push for the same gains as above since I believe the administration of the last several years had taken the eye off the ball as all the gains in those areas have been lost. I know the board has been struggling to make corrections in that direction but some are stuck defending their past decisions and one of the newer board members seems to have only vendetta in mind. I have been impressed with Ms. Rickert and just hope we can get some other fiscally conservative open minded progressive thinkers on the board to move things along. Does anyone know anything more about Steve Dieu? I have heard that he is also a strong candidate and I will most likely be deciding between the two.

7 Burt Levine - Mar 29, 03:32 pm
Please see www.votestevedieu.com

8 Susan - Mar 29, 05:19 pm
Speaking of Raj Chopra, this reminds me of the mess we now find in FBISD:

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0514boardreport14.html

Schools chief gets cleared of being unprofessional

Karina Bland
The Arizona Republic
May. 14, 2005 12:00 AM

“Phoenix Union High School District Superintendent Raj Chopra was cleared of allegations of unprofessional conduct after an internal investigation by the district’s legal counsel.

As a result of the investigation and in an attempt to cool the hostility, the board has agreed to hire a mediator to improve relations among board members, the board and the superintendent, as well as between the board and district employees.

One after another, at Thursday night’s school board meeting, board members pledged to stop the infighting that has plagued their meetings since January and work together.

“The students of this district deserve no less,” board member Steve Gallardo said.

But the attempt at good will didn’t last an hour.

Board President Wilbert Hill, in his regular report, talked of the financial difficulties facing the district and questioned whether employees should be able to save up annual leave. He also questioned whether the district’s employee handbook should always be followed.

At that, about half of those in the boardroom stormed out.

“On behalf of the teachers, I feel so disrespected,” said Shirley Filliater-Torres, president of the district’s Classroom Teachers Association.

Since 1968, the handbook has been negotiated regularly between employees and administrators and approved by the board.

Still, Filliater-Torres said, “I’m optimistic now that we have a neutral person to help us.”

Phoenix consultant Wally Graham has worked as a mediator in the district before.

In a March 22 letter, board members Gallardo and David Lujan, both state legislators, called for an investigation of “possible misconduct on the job” by Chopra. They accused him of possibly violating district policies, including the use of “profane or abusive language,” and the “threat of harm to anyone.”

Most of the allegations in the letter center on a dispute at a March 3 board meeting between Chopra and member C. Diane Bishop. The two argued within earshot of the audience, but were out of sight.

Chopra has filed a hostile work environment complaint against Bishop, saying that she hit him during the dispute. Bishop has denied that.

In his investigation, Gary Lassen, the district’s legal counsel, found no evidence that Chopra acted unprofessionally. He did find significant conflict among all parties to warrant mediation. At the meeting, he said, “This board is committed to treat one another and all employees with dignity and respect; all employees are similarly committed to treat the board with dignity and respect.”

Also, Chopra said that, despite speculation that he was considering leaving, he would stay to fulfill his contract, which ends June 30, 2007.”

9 Jose - Mar 29, 07:28 pm
It has been awhile but was Hal Jay the guy who was doing business with the district while he was on the board?

10 Burt Levine - Mar 29, 08:23 pm
please see www.votestevedieu.com

11 Susan - Mar 30, 07:08 pm
Your memory is accurate, Jose. Bev Carter was all over Jay in her newspaper regarding his business with district vendors while serving as a trustee and he was defeated by Sue Hauenstein.

12 2facehal - Apr 12, 07:57 pm
Hal, who are you trying to kid, you wanted Betty\’s head served on a silver platter! The public has to wonder if you were to be elected which Hal would show up?

13 jlc - Apr 13, 07:36 pm
I know Sonal Bhuchar personally and she is a very intelligent person with a wonderful grasp of educational issues. She will be an outstanding board member and will keep the focus on doing what is right for students.

14 Sugarbabe - Apr 13, 08:37 pm
Looks like Smelly and Bhuchar are the establishment picks!

15 Notanoption - Apr 13, 08:43 pm
Sonol is not an option, she is not even astute enough to know we need someone with a business background to run a $400M operation, not a popular English teacher.

16 Burt Levine - Apr 13, 10:01 pm
Steve Dieu has run a $46m office and he and his wife have built and run a successful manufacturing firm.

17 Susan - Apr 14, 07:23 am
Notanoption,
So Sonal Bhuchar who runs her own business and operates her husband’s medical practice is not “astute” enough because she (like most Fort Bend residents) thinks Dr. Baitland knows more about running schools than Rickert, Caldwell, Bryant and Magee?

Looks to me like things have gone downhill fast since Team Rickert took over. They can’t seem to do the simplest thing like setting a calendar in a timely fashion and you trust them to hire a superintendent?

18 dk - Apr 14, 08:39 am
Notanoption – - Apparently you have no idea who Sonal Bhuchar is. She is more up to speed on issues in this District than any candidate in this race. Who is this English Teacher you are referring to? It certainly is not Sonal Bhuchar, who runs her husbands medical practice and has a physical therapy practice of her own. Beyond that she has been a volunteer at the campus and district-wide level, and has many other social and professional affiliations. It is outrageous to hear someone be criticized by people who don’t know what they are talking about.

Sugarbabe – - I have been under the impression that the establishment is the “new” majority. I don’t think Smelley and Bhuchar are part of that group. Sometimes people run because they just don’t like the way things are being done!

19 intheknow - Apr 14, 09:28 am
Based on what I’ve heard from the candidates so far in this race, Steve Dieu appears to be the only candidate without a hidden political agenda. Hal Jay and Steve Smelley represent the past—they each had their chance, and now, they appear to be running as a “ticket.” — Both saying the same things and holding joint campaign events. Let’s put some independent thinkers in with fresh ideas and a vision for the future. I don’t want to see FBISD go backwards.

20 jlc - Apr 14, 10:04 am
Yes, we need people with business acumen on the BOT, but we also need members with a focus on education. This is why the BOT is made up of people with various talents who bring different perspectives.

21 Susan - Apr 14, 10:37 am
intheknow,
You apparently are not “in the know” since you are posting false information. Smelley and Jay are not running as a “team.” There are some very different people supporting the two of candidates and not every person supporting Smelley is supporting Jay because some of us are concerned about his recent “conversion” to favoring rehiring Dr. Bailtand when he appeared to be very much in the camp of Team Rickert at the time she was “retired.”

Furthermore, please explain how you divined which candidates have “hidden” agendas. Smelley and Bhuchar are clearly running on a restore sanity, decorum and a focus on education (not politics) to FBISD platform—and they are not hiding that fact. Seems to me that voting for Mitton, Jay, Howard or Dieu is voting for either Team Rickert or Team Magee since the trouble erupted in paradise.

22 Sugarbabe - Apr 14, 10:51 am
Intheknow,
I agree with you! Some people cannot realize that the last 10 years are what we are paying for, they want voters to think it has only been the last 2 years that this district has taken a bad turn. It goes way back, but to admit that would mean you would have to admit that there were some bad decisions made by the BOT before the gang of four and that is not going to happen by some.

23 Susan - Apr 14, 11:27 am
Linda,
I admit there were many wrong decisions made by previous Boards. For example, building Lake Olympia within spitting distance from Quail Valley was a mistake. Building Elkins on the outside of Hwy 6 when the need was closer to Quail Valley was a mistake. Purchasing Don Hooper’s church was a mistake. Some of these decisions were made by people I supported.

Seems to me that the “gang of 4” (most recently the gang of 2 vs 2) supporters are the ones who defend indefensible behavior—even excusing unprofessional conduct from the dais because their political agendas are being fulfilled.

24 intheknow - Apr 14, 08:26 pm
Susan— There is an event on Monday which is a joint event for Hal Jay and Steve Smelley. Both Jay and Smelley said they want to bring Baitland back as Super. Both Jay and Smelley say repeatedly we need their “experienced” brand of leadership on the board. Well, Mr. Smelley was on the board for 7 years during some of the fastest growth in the District, but I never heard him demand a long-range plan. He was President of the Board and presided over the first failed bond election in the history of the District. He also made the motion to spend $10 million on a Church and then millions more to covert it to an adminstration annex. If that’s the kind of “leadership” he’s going to bring back, people should be running in the other direction.

25 Susan - Apr 14, 11:06 pm
I spoke with Smelley today. When he was invited to the event on Monday, he was not told that he and Hal Jay were the only candidates included. Sounds to me like Jay and his supporters are trying to tie the two together since many do not know whether to trust what Jay says he thinks now, or what he said a few months ago. Unlike most of the board members we have now, we know exactly where Smelley stands and that is both refreshing and reassuring.

I agree that the church deal was a bad one, however, it is nothing compared to the mess made by Rickert, Caldwell, Bryant and Magee. At least the district owns a piece of real estate that they might be able to sell in the future. With the “gang of 4” all we get is destruction and money down the drain. Legal fees alone are astounding!

26 Sugarbabe - Apr 15, 08:01 am
Failing to have a long range growth plan, increased numbers at the admin building, larger student to teacher ratio, those are the things I am talking about. In the last two years I have felt there is more emphasis on student success than before, and you have seen an increase in a lot of administrators trying to justify their jobs.

27 Susan - Apr 15, 08:52 am
Linda,
Once again I see things very differently. It appears to me that Team Rickert has used the term “student success” as a tool to reach specific goals and they seem to have little interest or real knowledge about it. Remember that Rickert and Bryant were reported to have never mentioned instruction or achievement in the first year of their tenure? They remind me of many leaders in business today—apparently subscribing to the theory that the right manager at the top (themselves and their hand picked superintendent) will fix all problems down the line.

As far as the number of administrators, you don’t have to be very observant to notice that people are bailing out of the district right and left. This is happening in administration and on the campuses and many have cited hostile and demeaning treatment by the board as reasons for their departure—as did Susan Wey in her retirement letter.

28 intheknow - Apr 15, 09:32 am
Under the leadership of the “new” board members we have seen:
1) A larger salary increase (double) for teachers compared to what the administration was originally proposing;
2) A move toward more open governance as evidenced by audits now available to the public and being heard in open, not closed, session;
3) A more open and inclusive zoning process and facilities naming process;
4) A move to radically improve the District’s dangerously outdated IT infrastructure that was full of security holes;
5) An effort to reduce legal fees (that have skyrocketed in recent years not due to Board actions, but due to an administration that would rather fight parents at all costs than make accommodations required by law);
6) An effort to put a real long-range plan in place that looks beyond the next bond election;
7) greater emphasis on accountability at all levels;
8) Approval of a new program to track student performance that promises to greatly increase teacher productivity and help identify early when individual students or groups of students are underperforming;
9) A move this budget year to significantly increase the number of teachers hired compared to non-teaching positions; and
10) An overall effort to bring a more business-like approach to governance.

They have managed to do this in the face of extreme opposition to change from the “older” Board members and the previous administration leadership who ran, unsuccessfully, to the TEA for help—and kept the Board from moving forward on important issues for months and was the primary cause of the divisive attitudes.

By comparison, we have “older” Board members like Cynthia Knox who admitted at a Board meeting recently she did not know the Board had line item veto authority over the budget and spent 15 minutes debating whether or not “Oakland” was a real word before approving the name for the new elementary school.

When Steve Smelley was on the board (and even since leaving the board) he has advocated the following re excluding the community from the zoning process: “My proposal is change the policy. Use the law and the law says that administration draw the lines and send the letters home to the parents and students. It’s the fairest way to do it. Use consultants, come up with the best solution for the district, for the student for the taxpayers and send the letters home.”

If you want to continue an attitude in FBISD that essentially has been “We know best and parents don’t”—then by all means vote for Steve Smelley and Hal Jay.

29 Susan - Apr 15, 10:06 am
intheknow,
The only people I can think of who could “spin” things as above are Liz Mitton or Lisa Rickert. Which one are you?

30 johndavid - Apr 15, 10:15 am
Smelley is starting to sound a lot like Dave Wallace. Promise, un-promise, re-promise. What ever happened to a man keeping his word? I guess when you spend your life as a car salesman you say what ever it takes to make the sale!

31 winnersandlosers - Apr 15, 10:19 am
Well, all I can say is thank you to the FBISD board. Because of you, neighboring school districts are now winning. We are in the process of interviewing applicants for next year. We are seeing a large number of qualified teachers from FBISD applying in our district. None have given specific reasons, but after reading all of this, I can see why. I, myself, would not want to stay in a place where there is this much turmoil. So, again, thank you to the FBISD board. Your loss is our gain. Our children thank you, too, because they are the winners here! Unfortunately, yours will be the losers. How sad for them – that part is heartbreaking!

32 intheknow - Apr 15, 11:19 am
winners— That’s the same line Hal Jay and Steve Smelley are trotting out at campaign events in an obvious attempt at scare tactics. Please provide hard numbers or any documented evidence that FBISD has any higher turnover now than it has in past years.

In addition, why has FBISD been so reluctant to hire teachers through the alternative certification process or have a policy in place that would allow FBISD to rehire “retired” teachers that were forced out due to the changes in the Social Security rules a couple years ago?

I’m guessing that teachers are leaving because they are stressed out by overcrowded schools and an student/teacher ratio that is among the worst in the state. That has nothing to do with the actions of the current board, but is a result of years of mismangement and lack of planning on behalf of the former administration and former boards.

33 Susan - Apr 15, 12:47 pm
intheknow,
Have you or the other candidates advocating rehiring retired teachers (Hal Jay for one) thought about the long term consequences to the teacher retirement system when you have huge numbers of people “double dipping”? The working retired teachers will not pay into the system like regular teachers would, thus depleting the already cash strapped fund. Seems that some are looking only at the short-term personal gain without considering what life will be like when they are 75 and physically cannot supplement their income. Will the teacher’s retirement fund still be there if we short change the system now? Talk about a lack of long term planning!

I noticed you ignored Susan Wey’s documentation that she was leaving because of the rude and unprofessional actions of Team Rickert. But as long as we are into guessing my guess is that former best friends Mitton, Rickert and Jay will all kiss and make up if he is elected.

34 Sugarbabe - Apr 15, 01:22 pm
The student teacher ratio, not being backed up by administrators, these are the things that drive teachers out. I cannot see a difference in the BOT while doing my job. The class size was growing up until this year and several buildings had to cut the size of their staff three years ago. We are gaining staff this year, so that is a plus. I am proud of FBISD no matter who serves on the BOT, because I know how hard the teachers work, and I know that they care about the students and the quality of education. The BOT does not affect what I do as far as teaching or doing my job.

Some of the administrators need to go, if some people were so inclined and wanted to be petty, some negative letters could be written about some administrators. Don’t get me wrong, some are good, but too many of them is not a good thing!
35 winnersandlosers - Apr 15, 01:28 pm
intheknow – I have no hard numbers; I am only stating a fact. We interviewed 6 teachers from Fort Bend last week at our school alone. That’s a bunch and what prompted me to write that comment. As I stated, they gave no specific reason, but as a teacher myself, I am appalled by the turmoil I see in FBISD and would not teach there as long as it continues. Teachers need to know that the children come first and based on the fighting I see going on with the new and old board, that’s just not happening. You can’t convince me that it is!! I don’t know any of those people on the board and, frankly, don’t care to. All I know is that we are seeing a ton of teachers coming our way. Once we hire one, I’ll ask their reason. As you know (or maybe you don’t), we can’t ask ahead of time, that is not allowed when you are interviewing applicants. Big no-no!! Once I find out, I’ll post that response.

36 Teacher Speaks Out - Apr 15, 01:54 pm
The vast majorities of the FBISD teachers are busy doing their job and are supportive of moving on from the ways of the past. We are confident that the new direction will bring relief to the classroom. Good teachers are not focused on the politics of who is in control and they just want to see the burden placed on them by the administrations self serving bureaucrats relieved. As a teacher I see a very small group of teachers and administrators that believed they were on the fast track by virtue of favoritism now making a lot of noise. I am sure the post by “winnersandlosers” is one of them. I can tell you that the majority of us teachers are happy to see the departure of the old ways. Teaching is a gift and using the education of our children as a pawn for your own personal gain is a sin. Not to long ago ran into Ms. Rickert and thanked her for all she goes through on the behalf of the children and I did let her know that teachers, though afraid to speak out, are behind her efforts. As I continue teach by choice in an ignored, over crowed and resource starved school it is easy to see the political favoritism that has occurred over the years. If people like Hal Jay and Steve Smelley are counting on massive support from teachers at the polls, they will be in for a rude awaking. That is the nice thing about the secret ballot, no retaliation possible!

37 winnersandlosers - Apr 15, 03:33 pm
Teacher Speaks Out – No, I am not from FBISD nor will I ever be. I only speak the truth about the applicants. Don’t care about the new board or the old board. Just happy to say that we’ll get good experienced teachers because of them both. I am glad that you are getting what you need. And you are certainly right about the fact that teachers just get on with the job of working and taking care of our kids. Keep in mind that I posted that fighting is going on in FBISD. If that was not the truth, then I apologize but regardless, we ARE seeing applicants from your district. Please don’t brand me as ‘one of those’ just because I made a comment.

38 Susan - Apr 15, 03:38 pm
Teacher Speaks Out,
Your comments are interesting in light of the fact that I recently asked a teacher friend how many of the employees on her campus were in agreement with what Team Rickert was doing. She said they were almost unanimously against the actions by this BOT. I guess we will see in May which one of our assessments was right.

Further, if you actually read the post by winnersandlosers you would note that he/she works in a neighboring district, not FBISD, so he/she does not care about our politics here except to say that they are getting a very high number of applicants seeking to leave FBISD. Therefore, your slam that he/she is one a few FBISD administrators who was on the fast track now derailed by Rickert and company is false.

39 intheknow - Apr 15, 08:26 pm
Winners—Care to reveal from what district you’re poaching FBISD teachers? You are not stating fact, you are stating anecdotal hearsay based on a very small sample. Quantify “large number of teachers” please. Again, I ask, is the turnover for FBISD this year any higher than in the last few years? I’m guessing not.

Susan— don’t believe a word of your above post. First of all, how would a single teacher know the feelings of almost “all” the other teachers at his/her campus? More hysterical (and probably made up) hearsay from Susan.

Teacher Speaks Out’s comments ring much more true to what I’m hearing from teachers across the district.

40 Susan - Apr 16, 07:03 am
Nice try Liz. Of course any facts not helpful to your cause are “anecdotal” while what you hear on the campaign trail is solid.

41 Susan - Apr 16, 07:15 am
Also, Liz, please refrain from calling me a liar. The teacher who told me that her campus was unanimously against the actions of the gang of 4 will happily come forward. Obviously, the outrageous actions of Team Rickert are a topic of discussion on many campuses. Sometimes the truth hurts.

42 winnersandlosers - Apr 16, 08:28 am
The only ‘fact’ that I stated is that we are seeing a large number of teachers from FBISD applying in our district (Katy). Our interviewing group went through a stack of about 50 applications and I can only say that about a third were FBISD teachers, which is more than normal. I don’t care about your politics or your constant bickering on this site. I only posted a comment about what is happening. What is it with you people, all of you??? No wonder we see so many applicants showing up…you people want to sling arrows at everyone!! I am talking about both sides. SHEESH! No sense wasting my time arguing with any of you about a simple comment. Some people don’t have a dog in your fight – go fight with someone who does! (And keep sending us those applicants.)

43 intheknow - Apr 16, 09:47 am
Susan—re your post prior—If Smelley was mislead about Monday’s event with Hal Jay, you’d think he would disavow it and not show up. When you talked to Mr. Smelley, did he indicate he would not go now that he knows the whole story?

44 Sugarbabe - Apr 16, 05:33 pm
Over the last 10 years we have lost several teachers to Katy, because they live in Katy. Some of them regret the move.

45 Susan - Apr 16, 08:35 pm
Ms. Mitton,
As you most certainly know, Steve Smelley is his own man and will handle the meeting Monday in his own way and in his own time. He needs no assistance from either of us.

As for your inventory of the board “accomplishments”, most of us see things very differently:
1) Re the salary increase for teachers, the recommendation to increase teachers’ salaries came from administration. It had nothing to do with the board members. Business and finance employees came up with the recommended increase before Mr. Magee made his proposal.

2) Regarding more open governance, only two audits were ever given in closed session and both involved personnel issues. There have been many audits given to the board in written report form (not public forum) and that continues even now. As for more open governance, Mrs. Rickert demonstrated at the Feb. board meeting that the gang of 4 are transparent only when SHE wants them to be transparent. Cutting public comment time to only one time a month and two minutes at her discretion, clearly demonstrates a disregard for public input.

3) Re the zoning process, there is no difference in this zoning process than in the past except that there are more meetings and the public gets to give their opinion BEFORE the process starts instead of during the process. Do you really think that will change the outcome?

4) Re the district’s IT systems, the board had NOTHING to do with the changes except to approve them.

5) Re attorney fees, obviously you haven’t checked on how much the board has spent money on attorneys since January. Fees were skyrocketing before but under the Rickert/Pedraza regime, they are reported to be astronomical.

6) You make it sound as it the district did no long term planning. They did, but to give the new board members credit where credit is due, the process is now more extensive.

7) Re greater accountability at all levels—you have got to be kidding me. This board accepts no accountability whatsoever. They remind me of school children who forgot their homework—it’s the TEA’s fault that they couldn’t adopt the calendar in a timely fashion. It’s the speakers’ fault they couldn’t complete a meeting because too many people wanted to talk.

8) The new board had nothing to do with the new program to track student performance except to approve it. Administration (Those people you love to deride and attack) developed the plan.

9) During the personnel budget discussions, both Magee and Hauenstein spoke in favor of hiring more teachers and you certainly don’t consider Hauenstein part of your esteemed “new guard”.

10) You have got to be kidding about a “more business like approach”. Meetings cancelled mid stream? Agenda items added at the last minute with no forethought or background documentation? Meetings that go on for hours with nonsensical monologues and/or discussions of inane minutiae? Rude and snide comments directed toward fellow board members or employees (remember the references to one employee as “the little man”?) This is the most unprofessional and ill prepared bunch I have ever run across in my life.

46 jc - Apr 16, 08:57 pm
Knock Steve Smelley all you want, but look at the alternatives. Wayne Howard, “resigned and released” teacher. My son was assaulted, in Mr. Howard’s class, under his direct supervision. However, Mr. Howard was not in the gym doing his job and my son suffered severe medical consequences. Let’s vote for Mr. Howard so he can fulfill his personal agenda, getting back at administrators that did their job in investigating Mr. Howard’s accountability. Then you have Liz Mitton, I have never met anyone like her. She takes credit for everything and loves to hear herself talk about herself. Can you imagine a board meeting with her and Magee? No one else would get a word in. We need ALL the information on the candidates in order to make an informed decision.
Please be informed about the candidates and make an intelligent decision.

47 Burt Levine - Apr 16, 11:11 pm
Wht event or mtg is Monday night?

48 schoolwise - Apr 17, 05:38 am
Is that Susan again trying to knock LM (or who she thinks is LM). Susan the insider, the reason so many teachers (and admins) are leaving the district is because everyday it is moving towards becoming an urban district thanks to all the growth. The media does its best to hide it, but the fact that the district continues to increase at a very high rate in enrollments moved this district into the top 10 in TX fairly recently. That is not good data for schools and children (maybe business, but not kids).

49 jc - Apr 17, 06:30 am
schoolwise – are you suggesting that jc is Susan? Wrong. I did not take my son’s situation to the media because the administrators of this district did their job and handled the situation. There was no cover-up or hiding anything. After I resigned from my teaching job, I started digging to get the details and I was appauled by what I fount out. Fact – Mr. Howard was not in the gym at his assigned time, a student that did not belong in the gym was able to assault my son.

50 Susan - Apr 17, 07:19 am
I responded to Liz Mitton inferring that I am a liar and other posts spun to her advantage.

Schoolwise, please provide the sources citing that teachers are leaving FBISD due to changing demographics rather than the reasons they are telling their friends and collegues—namely that they are upset with the direction of FBISD since Caldwell, Bryant, Magee and Rickert took over. These sentiments are also expressed in writing in Dr. Wey’s retirment letter.

51 Susan - Apr 17, 07:32 am
JC,
Remember that “schoolwise” was a frequent blogger on Liz Mitton’s site always defending Mitton, Rickert, Caldwell, Bryant and Magee no matter what.

I do recall that you tried to tell your son’s story last year on the SOS site and that it was posted for a short while, then removed and labeled lies and rumors by Mitton. Seems she was very anxious to invistigate all sorts of “wrong doing” by the district, but refused to look into an incident where your son was almost killed when Howard failed to supervise his assigned class. It was quite inconvenient for Mitton at that time because Howard was endorsed by Rickert, Caldwell, Bryant, Magee, and New Territory Votes.

Now that there is a rift in Team Rickert and Mitton is running against Howard, I’m sure she will welcome the truth coming to light.

52 Liz Mitton - Apr 17, 08:14 am
Susan—I have not posted that you are a liar. Please do not make assumptions in this regard or continue to infer that any of the above posts are mine.

If anyone would like to find out more about me or why I am running, they can visit my interactive website at: www.lizmittoncampaign.blogspot.com

53 schoolwise - Apr 17, 09:10 am
JC,

Not sure why and how you got that I was posting to you, but on several levels you appear to be wrong again. As for knowing teachers, well lets just say I have talked with virtually hundreds over the years and quite a few from this district too from many different campuses. I assure you that when districts experience this type of growth the exodus and the board chaos is quite normal. Job satisfaction is impacted by working conditions like these.

And BTW the conditions I mention are mostly acting on the system externally. Think outside the box for a change.

54 jc - Apr 17, 10:17 am
schoolwise – keep it straight. JC is not Susan. Your last post was referencing Susan’s last post.
BTW – I am also a teacher. I do know what goes on in the schools. I have also talked to many teachers at different campuses. I have never made any statements regarding what teachers are thinking or doing.

55 schoolwise - Apr 17, 01:11 pm
LC—the post you keep referencing is number #48 is responding to Susan’s #45. Again, not sure how you even chimed in on the above response unless your getting defensive? That post had nothing to do with you.

56 jc - Apr 17, 03:09 pm
It’s JC and I have nothing to be defensive about.

57 schoolwise (55) - Apr 17, 04:47 pm
I’ll just refer to your number if I have anything to say to you, ok #56. . . ;-)

58 Dan Kerr - Apr 20, 02:30 pm
Jean Charuk (jc)

It forever amazes me that parents do not look at their own kids when something goes wrong. Had your son been sexually assaulted in the gym or held up and mugged, then I would feel for you. As it is, you FAIL to mention that your son is the one who started the whole thing. As a parent who had a daughter sexually assaulted in the band room, I proceeded against the other student, NOT the band leader. As a past Asst Director of McAllen’s Boy Club of America who was also in charge of that areas first wrestling program, the lunch program, head lifeguard, etc. I can attest to the many activities that go on in a gym setting. The sad part about you is the fact that nowhere do you state the event that touched off your son getting his lights punched out – which was YOUR SON throwing a basketball at the boy that bounced the ball off the rim and hit him on the top of the head. MAYBE if YOUR SON would have chosen his actions more carefully he would not have gotten his lights punched out.

Isn’t it amazing that everyone complains that the kids are out of control EXCEPT THEIR OWN. I have heard it over and again, “My Johnny could not have done this or that.” “He’s a good boy” What a CROCK.

Jean (jc) – look to your own backyard rather than pursue your personal agenda of frustration at not having a case to stand on – in other words – without merit.

Wayne Howard RETIRED from the school district – was not fired – and for you to assert otherwise either on this web site or in the heavily partisan local paper just goes to the facts that your opinion has no merit either.

Jean (jc) get a grip and don’t throw rocks at glass houses.

59 Susan - Apr 20, 02:54 pm
Mr. Kerr (hired political consultant representing FBISD Trustee candidate Wayne Howard?)

First let me state that I do not accept the truth of your assessment of the above incident, however, I want to understand your argument. You are actually arguing that if child A throws a basketball at child B and it hits him (intentionally or not), then child B has the right to attack child A, beating him until he is placed on life support in the Intensive Care? Further, you think nothing of the fact that the teacher assigned to the class was not present—in direct violation of specific written directions given to said teacher? Is that REALLY what you meant to say?

60 jc - Apr 20, 02:56 pm
Mr. Kerr

You do not have the facts. I will be glad to share all documentation with you, or anyone else. My son did not start anything. There was no fight. It was an assault. As you are a paid political consultant to Mr. Howard, I know you are just doing your job even if nothing you said is true. Please contact me for the facts, or do your own investigation before you blame the victim.

61 Dan Kerr - Apr 20, 04:07 pm
Susan and Ms Charuk – I do, in fact, have the facts – Further – the boy walked himself down to the nurses station under his own power – Finally – it does not matter whether I am political consultant or that you accept the truth – the truth is still the truth no matter who says it! Ms. Charuk – how come you did not contact Mr. Howard except to see about your son’s grade in his class – not until Mr Howard decided to run for office are you throwing this questionable version to print? – How come you have not filed suit if Mr Howard is truly to be held accountable? – Mr. Howard RETIRED after 31 years – Mr. Howard has the full documentation and recorded conversations and copies of all e-mails concerning this matter – Susan – you have mistated what I have said and turned it around – Your own school attorneys gave Mr. Howard a letter specifically stating that he had done nothing wrong – It was Ms. Baitland that targeted Mr. Howard – Susan – If your boss (if you have one) said that you could not sit down except before class, during lunch or after class – all the while having documentation of a physical disability – what would you think of any further correspondence from that person? – Finally – I am both saddened and insulted that you made the statement you did Susan – you EXPLICITLY IMPLIED that I would intentionally lie for a candidate when anyone who is the least familiar with the politics in Fort Bend knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that I do not do that – in fact I am the one that tells them like it is – YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF SUSAN – Attacking a persons character leaves your comments less than qualified

62 jc - Apr 20, 05:33 pm
You think you know. You obviously do not have ALL of the facts. I will be glad to share all documents with you.

63 Susan - Apr 20, 05:42 pm
Mr. Kerr,
I respectfully suggest that you go to the trouble of reading all of the records about this matter obtained through a Freedom of Information Act. If you read those documents (as I have) instead of relying upon selected records and testimony provided by your client, you will be enlightened.

I did not attack you or anyone else. I asked you a question. Instead of clarifying your position, you attacked me.

64 Susan - Apr 20, 05:51 pm
Mr. Kerr,
One more point you have wrong. JC tried to tell her son’s story last year. She posted it on the Save Our Schools Blogspot. When Ms. Mitton discovered the post, she removed it and claimed it was heresay and false information. Since eyewitness accounts were not deemed credible, JC then decided to obtain the official police reports and records of the incident and had to request that the Texas Attorney General order their release.

65 schoolwise - Apr 20, 07:09 pm
This is funny. Now Susan is trying to drag her sworn enemy into this by claiming she was somehow obligated to run this story when it was nothing more than a comment post on a blog.

Susan, why do you endlessly attack everyone that isn’t in your old guard? And who is your candidate that you are doing this for? Come clean and stop playing the same old tune over and over. Who’s paying you to spin this regular tripe?

66 Robert Cocheu - Apr 20, 08:07 pm
Please see my comments under the Hiring more teachers article and let’s get this discussion on track. Candidates or their supporters answer the questions:
-What kind of Superintendent do we need?
-How do we get the budget under control?
-How do we improve our test scores and get our teacher/student ratio back in line?
-How do we go about developing a long range plan for the district?

Once again be warned, anyone who “spins” I will challenge with facts just a tidbit. Susan stated above that there was a long range plan. I have heard Lee Petros state on a number of occassions at zoning meetings as well quoted in the Star as saying that “bond elections are the long range plan.” Bond elections are NOT a long range plan. Bond elections are what you use to implement the funding for a plan.

67 Susan - Apr 20, 10:18 pm
No pay from anyone, schoolwise. I am my own person. I have no “sworn enemies.” Thanks again for noting that I am not associated with the self-proclaimed “new guard.” You are so very nice!

Who are you working to elect to the school board? Mitton? Jay? Dieu? Howard?

6:22 AM

Anonymous said...
Anonymous --

First of all, I have no idea who "C" is. There's not even a 'c' in my first, middle, or last name! Again, I reiterate, you know absolutely NOTHING about the Education Foundation or how it operates.
I cannot address whether or not Mr. Smelley considered running for MC City Council or not. His name was never mentioned in the papers and he obviously didn't declare for the position. As for who his backers are, I wouldn't have a clue. I, agree with you on one thing, people should be encouraged to confirm, for themselves, your claims!

8:18 AM

Anonymous said...
Then all they have to do is file open records with the district and request the minutes from FBISD for when he served C.

Another good suggestion is for them to read the postings added to this site or visit directly the http://www.fortbendnow.com discussion threads and use those as a starting point to generate their own questions. It's obvious what you are trying to do and no question who you work for.

You also forgot to place an emphasis on the most important part. Who is backing/endorsing him now and that can be found easily through a records request with the state ethics commission (these reports are public record and required regular filings). I'm sure everything can be verified several times and I always suggest people do it for themselves rather than listening to your spin or mine. I've already checked for myself and know who I'm supporting. You on the other hand IMHO are chasing a pipe dream (or spinning one). Those "in the know" heard Smelley's feelers out last year. He discussed the run with several city officials and it is common information.

In one of the newspaper releases in '05, that he was quoted in, he spent time worrying about the districts bond rating when it was reported that test scores were falling and several ongoing investigations were underway. I'm sure you can check the FBStar archives on this one too. If he had been concerned about the kids he wouldn't have been focussed on image issues like this.

Please do your own scholarship and stop spinning here if you don't have a clue as to any of this. It's unfair to readers.

10:01 AM

Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the blog administrator.

10:23 AM

Anonymous said...
I certainly hope whoever you're supporting for BOT has more business sense than to consider the district's bond rating an "image issue". I personally believe that the biggest issue facing FBISD is overcrowding, it can be solved only with bonds, and if the rating is low bonds will be more expensive and harder to get voters to approve. A BOT candidate who wants the best education possible for FBISD students should be concerned about the bond rating and long-term district growth.

11:24 AM

Anonymous said...
Whomever I'm supporting isn't backed by the mega-developers and wouldn't make bond ratings their first issue above hiring new administration or keeping the kids first. In other words it wouldn't be their first response, like it was in the article with the interview. Knee jerk interviews/reactions tell much about where a persons real issues lie as do their involvements while they served.

Why don't you talk about other candidates and stop your campaigning? You either don't know what's been going on and think a return to old board politics is the answer or just don't really care. Which is it? Why aren't you considering non-special interest candidates instead of hyping this one? Several are funding their own campaign and have no interest in revisiting a redue board or one with outside controls on it.

12:39 PM

Anonymous said...
Here's some interesting info I googled on the candidate you are supporting:

Gibson relates "the real story" of Smelley actions at Lincoln Day Dinner

SOS received the following letter from Mike Gibson today:

In response to the “Rumors” reported in “The Fort Bend Southwest Star” on February 15, I would like to set the record straight about the encounter with Mr. Steve Smelley. This is what really happened the night of the Republican Party Lincoln/Reagan Dinner.

As my wife Tina and I were leaving after the event we were approached by former FBISD school board member Steve Smelley, who is a long time friend. After cordial introductions and congratulations for Steve’s announcement to enter the school board race again, Steve and I discussed broad issues regarding the school district and the state and federal rules affecting FBISD and all other school districts as well. I was emphasizing the need to get control back to the local level instead of state and federal mandates which elevate our cost to educate children.

Steve became increasingly belligerent and abrasive towards me, insisting I didn’t understand what was driving the high cost of education when we were discussing the issue. As Steve was becoming louder his face became reddened and would not let me speak, repeating the same point over and over.

Several people such as (FBISD Trustees) Bruce Bain and Lisa Rickert tried to come into the conversation to say hello and voice their congratulations for entering the school board race again but he would not acknowledge them. They both walked away from the conversation.

As other people walked by they looked at our group with worry and concern on their faces. Linda Howell quickly walked by saying that was a conversation of which she did not want to be a participant. As my wife and I were trying to move politely away from Steve no one seemed to want to relieve us from the obvious discomfort we were having. Finally Linda Hancock politely and calmly came over to Steve, took his arm, said he should leave and walked him over to another part of the hotel, while Steve continued to rant and rave.

The “accosting” that took place was by Steve Smelley who was rude, abrasive and invaded the personal space of two potential supporters for his campaign. His actions and behavior were not qualities I look for when voting for someone to represent me and my tax dollars on the school board. A school board representative should be working for his constituents listening to their concerns and ideas. Arguing with parents is not how you build consensus.

Having run for Republican Party Chairman in 2002, I spent time talking to citizens in Fort Bend County, listening to suggestions on a wide variety of issues. I always was polite, listened in earnest, took notes, and followed up on their comments. I learned more about the issues and how different people view these issues by listening, not arguing. How will Steve act at school board meetings if he disagrees with his colleagues or parents who have concerns or differing opinions? Will he yell at them telling them they don’t understand?

As for not having children in the district, well, our oldest daughter graduated Cum Laude from Kempner High School and is in the honors program at Texas A&M and our youngest daughter is a Sophomore at Kempner, an honors student, Student Council Sophomore class President and on the drill team. My wife and I have both been very involved in our children’s schools and are not casual complainers. My wife was the Parent Volunteer President for two years at Kempner and still on the Board this year.

It should not matter if we do not have children in the district. We still pay taxes and we still vote!

And related comments:

Watching the Dog said...
Once again SOS has done the community a disservice by reporting rumor and inuendo as fact. Had SOS initally reported Mike Gibson's account it would have been much more credible but with at least four different versions floating around it has now become just another he-said she-said story. Thanks for another example of journalistic excellence.

Thursday, February 16, 2006 9:02:08 PM

GetYourFactsStraight said...
Let's see...

rude, belligerent, abrasive, rant and rave, louder and louder, over and over....

Yes, I do believe Mr. Smelley might fit right in with Magee and Bryant. It would be nice to have someone stand up to them - for a change!

We NEED Steve Smelley on the Board to counter Magee and Bryant! At least, he will have the guts to tell those two to shut up and move on about the business of running the district and quit wasting so much time micro-managing....

Thursday, February 16, 2006 9:46:20 PM

DealMaker said...
It's nice to see the other side of the story. As we all know sometimes local media only report one perspective, thus the importance of alternative information/communications outlets.

Friday, February 17, 2006 5:17:19 AM

edwin said...
Mrs. Mitton,

You reveal your bias by stating that Mr. Gibson has provided "the real" story and others are not true. As watching the dog states, many witnessed this event and there are several versions/interpretations.

As one who was involved in the GOP Chairman race when Mr. Gibson challenged Mr. Thode, Gibson's version of the campaign does not square with what I remember. That was a VERY contentious campaign and we all know the outcome. I believe Mr. Thode received approximately 70% of the vote. Perhaps that says a lot about how many voters agree with Mr. Gibson's world view and philosophies......

Friday, February 17, 2006 7:57:26 AM

Save Our Schools said...
SOS updated and corrected our original story, apologizing for the intitial error. The Star printed a version of the event that appeared to be Mr. Smelley's side of the story. SOS posted Mr. Gibson's. Readers can decide for themselves.

Friday, February 17, 2006 8:02:53 AM

Hope said...
Seems to me as if this is a case of he said, he said, in which case the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. I have heard stories from both sides and it appears as if the confrontation was the fault of both parties. Is a disagreement between two individuals really what's important, though? Go to the forums, listen to the candidates and make your decision that way. What goes on between two 'longtime' friends (I am REALLY skeptical of that statement) should be kept between those two and the rest of it should stay out of it. Time to let go of it everyone!!

Friday, February 17, 2006 9:14:04 AM

nhs1979 said...
Thanks SOS for continuing to report information on this event.

As the previous commenters should know that if 10 people see the same thing and ask them individualy to tell you what they saw you will have 10 different versions of the same event. The common denominator in this is the fact that Mr. Smelley acted inappropriately and let his passions get the best of him. Not the best behavior for a potiental public offical. Give credit where credit is due SOS continued to report information as it came available and sounds like SOS fessed up to the error, if there was one. At any rate hold the similar standards to Bev Carter, and call her to task for the misinformation she outs out based on the buddy system not fact. Change is here, and while I have sympathy for your inability to cope, and know you fear what you can't understand we are going on and try to clean up the mess you so want to protect.

Friday, February 17, 2006 9:29:57 AM

12:54 PM

Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the blog administrator.

1:54 PM

Anonymous said...
Found this after a search on one candidate:

"Liz' stance on key questions on the minds of voters....
Several questions are repeatedly coming up from voters and at candidate forums. Below are my thoughts on the most often-asked queries I am receiving:

What kind of Superintendent do we need?

I am advocating that we do a national search for a Superintendent that has a strong business and management background. FBISD is a $400+ million a year operation with 8600 employees. A review of internal audits done over the past three years (which I have read and written about extensively) show an alarming pattern of mismanagement of district resources and many instances where district assets are at risk. We need someone who understands concepts such as risk management, budget management, cost/benefit analysis, and fixed asset controls to ensure our tax dollars are spent wisely and dollars are directed to teachers and classroom needs in an effective and efficient manner. In addition, the Superintendent should have the skills and vision to lead the administrators, employees and teachers, motivate them to achieve measurable goals and be willing to hold people accountable for achieving those goals.

How do we get the budget under control?

There are many ways to do this. First, a strong Superintendent with the business mangement skills (as decribed above) should be able to lead this effort. The Board should work cooperatively with the Superintendent, ask intelligent questions, and be proactive in looking at the budget the administration proposes. The Board has line-item veto authority and may want to exercise it. In an article below, I write about the process I would use for evaluating issues brought to the Board.

I would ask that the administration bring cost/benefit analysis for new programs or prosposals as a routine part of their requests for funding. In addition, I would ask that the Superintendent review current programs and departments to determine if money could be saved by outsourcing certain tasks so that we can get back to what our core competency should be -- education. For example, FBISD is in the printing business, the garbage pickup business, the lawn maintenance business, etc. That means we not only employee people full time, but pay for benefits, equipment, maintenance, storage, liability insurance, etc. associated with each of these tasks. I would like to see an analysis done to determine if FBISD could save money and resources by outsourcing some of these jobs to local businesses.

The internal audit staff has been very good, to date, at helping to identify areas where there are inefficiencies in the system and thier efforts should continue to be supported.

How do we improve our test scores and get our teacher/student ratio back in line?

Statistics I have researched and have been talking about include these:

Six years ago, 56% of FBISD employees were classroom teachers. Today, that percentage has dropped to 48%.
Out of 1037 school districts, FBISD ranks #1018 (near the bottom) in terms of student teacher ratio.
Across the board, it is our math and science scores that are keeping most of our campuses from achieving a higher state rating of recognized or examplary. In addition, the achievement gap in FBISD is really a canyon on many of our campuses. The truth, today, is that FBISD is a just barely above average school district in Texas.

There are two independent, public sites that verify this:

The National Center for Educational Accountability site:

www.just4kids.org

Standard and Poor's www.schoolmatters.com

I have several initial ideas for how to make improvements while actively seeking the advise and input of our rank and file teachers to determine more about what their current needs are:

Get an enlightened, forward thinking superintendent in place who is willing and able to bring in fresh, proven models for educational success. We need to change the culture which, in too many instances, believes that all answers reside inside the administration building on Lexington Avenue and there must be a "one size fits all" solution. We have many smart, intelligent and capable administrators, but we don't have a monopoly on good ideas. Let's bring proven best practices from other areas to FBISD.

Work with the Chamber of Commerce, the Education Foundation, PTO's, and the greater business community to focus efforts on math and science enrichment programs for our schools and support for better math/science resources.

Recruit and hire more and more qualified teachers in the math and science areas -- ensuring they are certified to teach in those subjects. Be willing to adopt and use proven differentiated teaching models.

Identify our lowest performing campuses and pair them with like campuses (those with similar demographics) in Texas that are currently outperforming us in terms of academic achievement. Allow the principal and key teachers to go to the partner school, discuss the strategies and methods they are using with success and allow the team to bring back models to implement on their campuses.

Review and reinforce our discipline and dress code policies to give teachers authority and support to maintain an effective learning environment in their classes.

With regard to reducing the student/teacher ratio: Beyond the elementary school level (where class sizes are limited by the Legislature), our middle and high school classes at many campuses are much too large. The new superintendent should be prepared to evaluate and reorganize current staff levels to put more emphasis on ensuring we have more classroom teachers and get our ratio of teaching to non-teaching personnel back in line with at least what it was 6 years ago. The Board should be prepared to support those efforts and hold the line on administrative growth.

How do we go about developing a long range plan for the district?

As I've written about and discussed at length, FBISD, for at least the last couple of decades, has not had a real long range plan. We have simply gone from one bond election to the next. It is now the middle of 2006. FBISD does not have a facilities and growth plan for 2008. They are currently working on a bond initiative to come forward in early 2007. I would oppose that move until such time as we have a meaningful, realistic long-range plan (at least 10 years) in place.

The City of Sugar Land has a rolling 10-year plan for growth that is updated annually. Our local city and county planners, as well as mud district leaders know where the growth is planned. FBISD should assemble a blue ribbon panel of these leaders, along with a qualified demographer, and selected community leaders and the Assoc. Superintendent of Facilities and Planning staff to develop such a plan -- which we should be able to complete in a 3-4 month time frame.

In conjunction with this plan, we should consider the merits and potential cost benefits of a district-wide rezoning effort to do two things:

Better utilize our existing campus capacity. Today, there is enough capacity at every level (elementary, middle and high school) that not one student should currently be in an overcrowded school. A district-wide rezoing effort may allow, at least in many areas, us to forestall the construction of new campuses and give us some breathing room to get ahead of our fast growth curve. In addition, we should consider the possibility of adding on to existing campuses in some areas, rather than building entirely new schools.

Better align our feeder patterns from elementary to middle to high schools. Today, students from elementary schools are often split between two or three middle schools and then split again going into high school. This needs to be reviewed and corrected as much as possible."

4:02 PM

Anonymous said...
Note to blog administrator:

It appears that some of your posters are repeating the libelous statements about Steve Smelley and his wife that were originally sent by Burt Levine to a list entitled "steve@votestevedieu.com" and also sent by Liz Mitton. Mr. Smelley has gone on record that these are indeed false and libelous statements and has documentation to prove his case. I would not be surprised if legal action follows. If you call FBISD or request to view board documents, you (and others who have sunk to the level of passing on lies) will learn that he is indeed truthful. I am surprised that any blog administrator would allow these libelous statements to remain on view.

It is sad that candidates and their supporters have sunk to the level of lying in an attempt to win.

5:17 PM

Anonymous said...
Posting of large portions of comments from other blogs is redundant and makes for poor reading. Don't bloggers here have original thoughts?

5:21 PM

Anonymous said...
Steve Smelley told me that some people approached him when he first mentioned that he was considering running for FBISD and tried to get him to run for MC Council instead. He was never interested in running for council and told them so. Perhaps those so desperate for the "new guard" to hold on to power wanted to keep him out of the school board race.

5:26 PM

Anonymous said...
If you want to read some enlightening posts from Fort Bend Now, try these:

46 jc - Apr 16, 08:57 pm
Knock Steve Smelley all you want, but look at the alternatives. Wayne Howard, “resigned and released” teacher. My son was assaulted, in Mr. Howard’s class, under his direct supervision. However, Mr. Howard was not in the gym doing his job and my son suffered severe medical consequences. Let’s vote for Mr. Howard so he can fulfill his personal agenda, getting back at administrators that did their job in investigating Mr. Howard’s accountability. Then you have Liz Mitton, I have never met anyone like her. She takes credit for everything and loves to hear herself talk about herself. Can you imagine a board meeting with her and Magee? No one else would get a word in. We need ALL the information on the candidates in order to make an informed decision.
Please be informed about the candidates and make an intelligent decision.

47 Burt Levine - Apr 16, 11:11 pm
Wht event or mtg is Monday night?

48 schoolwise - Apr 17, 05:38 am
Is that Susan again trying to knock LM (or who she thinks is LM). Susan the insider, the reason so many teachers (and admins) are leaving the district is because everyday it is moving towards becoming an urban district thanks to all the growth. The media does its best to hide it, but the fact that the district continues to increase at a very high rate in enrollments moved this district into the top 10 in TX fairly recently. That is not good data for schools and children (maybe business, but not kids).

49 jc - Apr 17, 06:30 am
schoolwise – are you suggesting that jc is Susan? Wrong. I did not take my son’s situation to the media because the administrators of this district did their job and handled the situation. There was no cover-up or hiding anything. After I resigned from my teaching job, I started digging to get the details and I was appauled by what I fount out. Fact – Mr. Howard was not in the gym at his assigned time, a student that did not belong in the gym was able to assault my son.

50 Susan - Apr 17, 07:19 am
I responded to Liz Mitton inferring that I am a liar and other posts spun to her advantage.

Schoolwise, please provide the sources citing that teachers are leaving FBISD due to changing demographics rather than the reasons they are telling their friends and collegues—namely that they are upset with the direction of FBISD since Caldwell, Bryant, Magee and Rickert took over. These sentiments are also expressed in writing in Dr. Wey’s retirment letter.

51 Susan - Apr 17, 07:32 am
JC,
Remember that “schoolwise” was a frequent blogger on Liz Mitton’s site always defending Mitton, Rickert, Caldwell, Bryant and Magee no matter what.

I do recall that you tried to tell your son’s story last year on the SOS site and that it was posted for a short while, then removed and labeled lies and rumors by Mitton. Seems she was very anxious to invistigate all sorts of “wrong doing” by the district, but refused to look into an incident where your son was almost killed when Howard failed to supervise his assigned class. It was quite inconvenient for Mitton at that time because Howard was endorsed by Rickert, Caldwell, Bryant, Magee, and New Territory Votes.

Now that there is a rift in Team Rickert and Mitton is running against Howard, I’m sure she will welcome the truth coming to light.

52 Liz Mitton - Apr 17, 08:14 am
Susan—I have not posted that you are a liar. Please do not make assumptions in this regard or continue to infer that any of the above posts are mine.

If anyone would like to find out more about me or why I am running, they can visit my interactive website at: www.lizmittoncampaign.blogspot.com

53 schoolwise - Apr 17, 09:10 am
JC,

Not sure why and how you got that I was posting to you, but on several levels you appear to be wrong again. As for knowing teachers, well lets just say I have talked with virtually hundreds over the years and quite a few from this district too from many different campuses. I assure you that when districts experience this type of growth the exodus and the board chaos is quite normal. Job satisfaction is impacted by working conditions like these.

And BTW the conditions I mention are mostly acting on the system externally. Think outside the box for a change.

54 jc - Apr 17, 10:17 am
schoolwise – keep it straight. JC is not Susan. Your last post was referencing Susan’s last post.
BTW – I am also a teacher. I do know what goes on in the schools. I have also talked to many teachers at different campuses. I have never made any statements regarding what teachers are thinking or doing.

55 schoolwise - Apr 17, 01:11 pm
LC—the post you keep referencing is number #48 is responding to Susan’s #45. Again, not sure how you even chimed in on the above response unless your getting defensive? That post had nothing to do with you.

56 jc - Apr 17, 03:09 pm
It’s JC and I have nothing to be defensive about.

57 schoolwise (55) - Apr 17, 04:47 pm
I’ll just refer to your number if I have anything to say to you, ok #56. . . ;-)

58 Dan Kerr - Apr 20, 02:30 pm
Jean Charuk (jc)

It forever amazes me that parents do not look at their own kids when something goes wrong. Had your son been sexually assaulted in the gym or held up and mugged, then I would feel for you. As it is, you FAIL to mention that your son is the one who started the whole thing. As a parent who had a daughter sexually assaulted in the band room, I proceeded against the other student, NOT the band leader. As a past Asst Director of McAllen’s Boy Club of America who was also in charge of that areas first wrestling program, the lunch program, head lifeguard, etc. I can attest to the many activities that go on in a gym setting. The sad part about you is the fact that nowhere do you state the event that touched off your son getting his lights punched out – which was YOUR SON throwing a basketball at the boy that bounced the ball off the rim and hit him on the top of the head. MAYBE if YOUR SON would have chosen his actions more carefully he would not have gotten his lights punched out.

Isn’t it amazing that everyone complains that the kids are out of control EXCEPT THEIR OWN. I have heard it over and again, “My Johnny could not have done this or that.” “He’s a good boy” What a CROCK.

Jean (jc) – look to your own backyard rather than pursue your personal agenda of frustration at not having a case to stand on – in other words – without merit.

Wayne Howard RETIRED from the school district – was not fired – and for you to assert otherwise either on this web site or in the heavily partisan local paper just goes to the facts that your opinion has no merit either.

Jean (jc) get a grip and don’t throw rocks at glass houses.

59 Susan - Apr 20, 02:54 pm
Mr. Kerr (hired political consultant representing FBISD Trustee candidate Wayne Howard?)

First let me state that I do not accept the truth of your assessment of the above incident, however, I want to understand your argument. You are actually arguing that if child A throws a basketball at child B and it hits him (intentionally or not), then child B has the right to attack child A, beating him until he is placed on life support in the Intensive Care? Further, you think nothing of the fact that the teacher assigned to the class was not present—in direct violation of specific written directions given to said teacher? Is that REALLY what you meant to say?

60 jc - Apr 20, 02:56 pm
Mr. Kerr

You do not have the facts. I will be glad to share all documentation with you, or anyone else. My son did not start anything. There was no fight. It was an assault. As you are a paid political consultant to Mr. Howard, I know you are just doing your job even if nothing you said is true. Please contact me for the facts, or do your own investigation before you blame the victim.

61 Dan Kerr - Apr 20, 04:07 pm
Susan and Ms Charuk – I do, in fact, have the facts – Further – the boy walked himself down to the nurses station under his own power – Finally – it does not matter whether I am political consultant or that you accept the truth – the truth is still the truth no matter who says it! Ms. Charuk – how come you did not contact Mr. Howard except to see about your son’s grade in his class – not until Mr Howard decided to run for office are you throwing this questionable version to print? – How come you have not filed suit if Mr Howard is truly to be held accountable? – Mr. Howard RETIRED after 31 years – Mr. Howard has the full documentation and recorded conversations and copies of all e-mails concerning this matter – Susan – you have mistated what I have said and turned it around – Your own school attorneys gave Mr. Howard a letter specifically stating that he had done nothing wrong – It was Ms. Baitland that targeted Mr. Howard – Susan – If your boss (if you have one) said that you could not sit down except before class, during lunch or after class – all the while having documentation of a physical disability – what would you think of any further correspondence from that person? – Finally – I am both saddened and insulted that you made the statement you did Susan – you EXPLICITLY IMPLIED that I would intentionally lie for a candidate when anyone who is the least familiar with the politics in Fort Bend knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that I do not do that – in fact I am the one that tells them like it is – YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF SUSAN – Attacking a persons character leaves your comments less than qualified

62 jc - Apr 20, 05:33 pm
You think you know. You obviously do not have ALL of the facts. I will be glad to share all documents with you.

63 Susan - Apr 20, 05:42 pm
Mr. Kerr,
I respectfully suggest that you go to the trouble of reading all of the records about this matter obtained through a Freedom of Information Act. If you read those documents (as I have) instead of relying upon selected records and testimony provided by your client, you will be enlightened.

I did not attack you or anyone else. I asked you a question. Instead of clarifying your position, you attacked me.

64 Susan - Apr 20, 05:51 pm
Mr. Kerr,
One more point you have wrong. JC tried to tell her son’s story last year. She posted it on the Save Our Schools Blogspot. When Ms. Mitton discovered the post, she removed it and claimed it was heresay and false information. Since eyewitness accounts were not deemed credible, JC then decided to obtain the official police reports and records of the incident and had to request that the Texas Attorney General order their release.

7:52 PM

Can'tbebullied! said...
To the poster that sent:

"Steve Smelley told me that some people approached him when he first mentioned that he was considering running for FBISD and tried to get him to run for MC Council instead. He was never interested in running for council and told them so. Perhaps those so desperate for the "new guard" to hold on to power wanted to keep him out of the school board race."

Sounds like the standard plausible deniability rhetoric that Smelley and his developer backers spin on almost every issue. We know better and his service on the board and other dealing are a matter of public record that anyone can check for themselves. As a candidate for public office Smelley backers threatening lawsuits is nothing new and an unacceptable tactic of bullies! No one can bully their way into office so my advice is to file your cases and get in line. I'm sure you'll find that the truth will come out in a court of law and become another part of the public record! You will also find out that the community back-lash for trying to silence the truth will become quite embarassing for you and your candidate.

5:50 AM

Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the blog administrator.

5:51 AM

responsible_dvlpmnt said...
The rules of this site are to follow netiquette. Please visit http://www.albion.com/netiquette/ for more. I will suggest that either party arguing for or against the previously mentioned candidates focus on issues as a way to avoid mud slinging.

As for the poster threatening lawsuits I suggest you not visit here anymore if you do not like what posters post. No one is forcing anyone to read or post here! Good luck and happy reading. THIS site will stay open as long as it is needed and we will defend the rights of any poster (including yours) to share their position.

5:56 AM

Anonymous said...
Found this after a search on one candidate:

"Liz' stance on key questions on the minds of voters....
Several questions are repeatedly coming up from voters and at candidate forums. Below are my thoughts on the most often-asked queries I am receiving:

What kind of Superintendent do we need?

I am advocating that we do a national search for a Superintendent that has a strong business and management background. FBISD is a $400+ million a year operation with 8600 employees. A review of internal audits done over the past three years (which I have read and written about extensively) show an alarming pattern of mismanagement of district resources and many instances where district assets are at risk. We need someone who understands concepts such as risk management, budget management, cost/benefit analysis, and fixed asset controls to ensure our tax dollars are spent wisely and dollars are directed to teachers and classroom needs in an effective and efficient manner. In addition, the Superintendent should have the skills and vision to lead the administrators, employees and teachers, motivate them to achieve measurable goals and be willing to hold people accountable for achieving those goals.

How do we get the budget under control?

There are many ways to do this. First, a strong Superintendent with the business mangement skills (as decribed above) should be able to lead this effort. The Board should work cooperatively with the Superintendent, ask intelligent questions, and be proactive in looking at the budget the administration proposes. The Board has line-item veto authority and may want to exercise it. In an article below, I write about the process I would use for evaluating issues brought to the Board.

I would ask that the administration bring cost/benefit analysis for new programs or prosposals as a routine part of their requests for funding. In addition, I would ask that the Superintendent review current programs and departments to determine if money could be saved by outsourcing certain tasks so that we can get back to what our core competency should be -- education. For example, FBISD is in the printing business, the garbage pickup business, the lawn maintenance business, etc. That means we not only employee people full time, but pay for benefits, equipment, maintenance, storage, liability insurance, etc. associated with each of these tasks. I would like to see an analysis done to determine if FBISD could save money and resources by outsourcing some of these jobs to local businesses.

The internal audit staff has been very good, to date, at helping to identify areas where there are inefficiencies in the system and thier efforts should continue to be supported.

How do we improve our test scores and get our teacher/student ratio back in line?

Statistics I have researched and have been talking about include these:

Six years ago, 56% of FBISD employees were classroom teachers. Today, that percentage has dropped to 48%.
Out of 1037 school districts, FBISD ranks #1018 (near the bottom) in terms of student teacher ratio.
Across the board, it is our math and science scores that are keeping most of our campuses from achieving a higher state rating of recognized or examplary. In addition, the achievement gap in FBISD is really a canyon on many of our campuses. The truth, today, is that FBISD is a just barely above average school district in Texas.

There are two independent, public sites that verify this:

The National Center for Educational Accountability site:

www.just4kids.org

Standard and Poor's www.schoolmatters.com

I have several initial ideas for how to make improvements while actively seeking the advise and input of our rank and file teachers to determine more about what their current needs are:

Get an enlightened, forward thinking superintendent in place who is willing and able to bring in fresh, proven models for educational success. We need to change the culture which, in too many instances, believes that all answers reside inside the administration building on Lexington Avenue and there must be a "one size fits all" solution. We have many smart, intelligent and capable administrators, but we don't have a monopoly on good ideas. Let's bring proven best practices from other areas to FBISD.

Work with the Chamber of Commerce, the Education Foundation, PTO's, and the greater business community to focus efforts on math and science enrichment programs for our schools and support for better math/science resources.

Recruit and hire more and more qualified teachers in the math and science areas -- ensuring they are certified to teach in those subjects. Be willing to adopt and use proven differentiated teaching models.

Identify our lowest performing campuses and pair them with like campuses (those with similar demographics) in Texas that are currently outperforming us in terms of academic achievement. Allow the principal and key teachers to go to the partner school, discuss the strategies and methods they are using with success and allow the team to bring back models to implement on their campuses.

Review and reinforce our discipline and dress code policies to give teachers authority and support to maintain an effective learning environment in their classes.

With regard to reducing the student/teacher ratio: Beyond the elementary school level (where class sizes are limited by the Legislature), our middle and high school classes at many campuses are much too large. The new superintendent should be prepared to evaluate and reorganize current staff levels to put more emphasis on ensuring we have more classroom teachers and get our ratio of teaching to non-teaching personnel back in line with at least what it was 6 years ago. The Board should be prepared to support those efforts and hold the line on administrative growth.

How do we go about developing a long range plan for the district?

As I've written about and discussed at length, FBISD, for at least the last couple of decades, has not had a real long range plan. We have simply gone from one bond election to the next. It is now the middle of 2006. FBISD does not have a facilities and growth plan for 2008. They are currently working on a bond initiative to come forward in early 2007. I would oppose that move until such time as we have a meaningful, realistic long-range plan (at least 10 years) in place.

The City of Sugar Land has a rolling 10-year plan for growth that is updated annually. Our local city and county planners, as well as mud district leaders know where the growth is planned. FBISD should assemble a blue ribbon panel of these leaders, along with a qualified demographer, and selected community leaders and the Assoc. Superintendent of Facilities and Planning staff to develop such a plan -- which we should be able to complete in a 3-4 month time frame.

In conjunction with this plan, we should consider the merits and potential cost benefits of a district-wide rezoning effort to do two things:

Better utilize our existing campus capacity. Today, there is enough capacity at every level (elementary, middle and high school) that not one student should currently be in an overcrowded school. A district-wide rezoing effort may allow, at least in many areas, us to forestall the construction of new campuses and give us some breathing room to get ahead of our fast growth curve. In addition, we should consider the possibility of adding on to existing campuses in some areas, rather than building entirely new schools.

Better align our feeder patterns from elementary to middle to high schools. Today, students from elementary schools are often split between two or three middle schools and then split again going into high school. This needs to be reviewed and corrected as much as possible."

4:02 PM

6:02 AM

Anonymous said...
I still notice that no one is denying who Smelley's backers are and how this will impact his potential board service. I'm supporting the candidates who swore off that backroom money.

6:04 AM

Anonymous said...
Recent FBNow.com post (thought you all might enjoy reading):

26 Noel Pinnock, BS, MPA, CA - Apr 21, 04:35 pm
The comments regarding the state of our school district are a small cry from being completely accurate. Our school district is on the fringes of social and political apathy. It is important that citizens unilaterally join in on this epic battle. We communicate through several channels- verbally, non-verbally, and at the polls. We can’t force or anyone to support any candidate view because who can truly ascertain one’s truest intention(s). Some seek a position for personal gain while others seek to run to support our teachers, administratos, and support staff focus on augmenting teaching and learning in the classrooms because our children are our number economic asset on all levels-local, state, and federal. Citizens should be willing to be receptive to all candidates but focus on those who promise that they will make a difference because a board divided is a school district in turmoil; however, there must be a define and delicate balance because everyone should have their bring their unique attributes and beliefs to the dais. Citizens are commenting about the current “new” board, but they haven’t mentioned the “candidates” that were left behind. I would admit, unbiasely, the past to canvassed voting slates represent the majority of the voices and sentiments of FB. Now they see that even signs, blogs, forums, and other open modalities to hear candidates in action not is misleading but not a fortified base to make a decision on who you vote for in this and any election. Citizens of FB should vote with their hearts and not with ther eyes and ears as well as make decision on merit, scholarship, consistency, experience, and exposure. I could proivde a laundry list of tatics that some candidates deploy to either detract potential voters from supporting a candidate to destroying signs that aren’t cheap by any measure. I had my signs torn down, damaged, and removed by opposing candidates. You have some candidates who endorse each other only to betray one another when it is down to the vote. I witness a member of the board carpool voters to the pool in support of the two most recently elected board members (nothing against political activism or rallying the troops-I perssonally thought it was a well thought out and methodical), I stomach opposing candidates who make libelous comments about other candidates, I have partaked in forums where most of the questions are conundrums that should be brought to the chief administrator’s position…I can go on. The reality of the situation is that our students, teachers, administrators, paraprofessionsal, crafts/tradesmen/women, bus drivers, counselors, nurses, speech specialists, testing specialists, trainers need us to support them by way of ensuring the community supports them and have the best interest in mind. If the state isn’t going to do it…then we should…don’t you think?

27 Burt Levine - Apr 21, 05:57 pm
Noel Pinock we miss you from your ‘04 and ‘05 races for FBISD!! I was excited to read you were running instead this yr for Quail Valley HOA Board. When is or was that election?

6:12 AM

Anonymous said...
Here's some more info I found:

"Mitton pledges not to accept vendor donations
Encourages other Board candidates to do same

Liz Mitton, candidate for Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees, Position 6, announced today she will not accept campaign donations from anyone with a significant interest in a current FBISD vendor or one seeking to do business with the school district. She challenged her opponents in the race to do the same.

“Accepting donations from vendors, while certainly legal, can lead to a perception of conflict of interest,” said Mitton. “This has been an issue in the recent past when Board members have voted to award sizeable contracts to organizations from which they have accepted campaign funds.”

Mitton said she respects companies that do business with Fort Bend ISD but feels they should limit their contributions to service organizations like the Fort Bend Education Foundation or school PTOs.

“The perception of a conflict, unfortunately, cuts both ways,” said Mitton. “Respectable companies that do a great job for FBISD and deserve to do continued business with it, should not be subjected to suggestions that their campaign contributions influenced the decision making process.

“This is not a ‘business as usual’ decision, but I am not a ‘business as usual’ candidate. The growing grassroots support I have is based on a broad coalition of parents and citizens who want independence and integrity from Board members.

“Therefore, I am pledging not to accept vendor donations and encourage my opponents to join me in the interest of open and fair governance for Fort Bend ISD,” said Mitton"

__________________________

I think only Carreon and Dieu have taken the pledge. Anyone have an update on this?

6:35 AM

Anonymous said...
Here is a piece on Mr. Dieu from FBNow.com. I've included the comments section too for the readers edification:

Steve Dieu Announces Candidacy For FBISD Board Position 2
by FortBendNow Staff, Mar 28, 10:12 am

Steve Dieu, an assistant attorney general representing Texas AG Greg Abbott in prosecuting to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in child support for struggling families, and a Fort Bend County Republican precinct chairman, is running for Fort Bend Independent School District Board of Trustees Position 2.

Steve Dieu

“My most important reasons for running are my wife and my three daughters Victoria, Megan and Kimberly, who all attend FBISD Schools, and our pledge that public education produces the best product for all Fort Bend families at the best price,” said Dieu.

“As an elected precinct chairman, a parent, taxpayer and owner and builder of a manufacturing company with my wife that provides food for restaurants across the area and employs area residents, I understand budgets, payroll, management and personnel issues and how high taxes punish production. I could not stand by longer on the sidelines watching our district bringing in more and more revenue from our home and business property taxes while the education provided our children is not improving,“ he said.

Dieu supports cutting waste, fraud and abuse where it can be found. He said he will fight to cut tax rates and to cap property tax appraisals to ensure fiscal discipline in the district.

For nearly a dozen years, Dieu has won recognition for managing offices for now-U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, where he has managed more than 20,000 cases supervising 42 support staff employees and four attorneys. Under his leadership the child support collections climbed from $16 million a year to more than $47 million a year, he said.

“I successfully turned one of Texas’ worst child support offices into one of the best. I’ve been elected as Texas’ best assistant attorney general. I know I can take those skills and the conservative principles I’ve put into practice in my business, family and civic life to work for the parents and taxpayers of FBISD,” said Dieu, who completed HISD public schools second in his class before earning his engineering degree at the University of Houston, working as a lead chemical research engineer for Penzoil and then completing law school.

From volunteering on talk radio and at his church to help those with family law problems to leading volunteerism at indigent and hurricane relief clinics, Dieu said he has the proven pro-family, pro-fiscal discipline principles, passion and patriotism that is needed in public schools.

“I’ve worked tirelessly for the families of our state in representing John Cornyn and Greg Abbott, and as a leader in my voting precinct, subdivision and daughter’s schools. With support I’ve received from families across FBISD I know we can move forward…together,” he said.

1 Eric - Mar 30, 10:18 am
Dieu will be an excellent addition to FBISD BOT. With Dieu and Liz Mitton on board, the BOT will have two new members with proven track records of getting things done for the betterment of our community.

2 voterwise - Mar 30, 07:54 pm
I agree on the Mitton comment but would like to see more on Dieu. Like where his contributions are coming from, etc. . .

3 Burt Levine - Mar 30, 09:51 pm
www.votestevedieu.com

4 stevedieu - Mar 31, 10:51 pm
Hello all, I’d very much like your support and votes. I spend my own money, so far!

5 voterwise - Apr 1, 09:03 am
Thanks Steve. Will you pledge off out of area contributions and not to accept contributions from potential vendors of FBISD? Thanks for any response.

6 stevedieu - Apr 3, 12:13 am
Dear Voterwise: Yes, I will. I am willing to give my three year services to the community and the isd. I very much want ftbd isd to excel b/c my children are in isd, and so are 67,000 other students. I hope with my background and experience, I could make ftbd isd better. That’s my main goal.

6:37 AM

Anonymous said...
“As an elected precinct chairman, a parent, taxpayer and owner and builder of a manufacturing company with my wife that provides food for restaurants across the area and employs area residents, I understand budgets, payroll, management and personnel issues and how high taxes punish production. I could not stand by longer on the sidelines watching our district bringing in more and more revenue from our home and business property taxes while the education provided our children is not improving,“ he said."

This quote for me is a very telling statement and one that signifies a good selection for my vote!

7:48 AM

Anonymous said...
The fact that Steve Dieu supports the ridiculous decision of Rickert, Caldwell, Bryant and Magee to force Dr. Baitland to retire without a plan or a thought to how they would ever find a replacement tells me he doesn't know as much as he pretends about management or personnel issues. Sounds like he might well fit with the current gang. They have not yet figured out that they are not supposed to be making every decsion about the day to day operations of the district--with most disasterous results.

9:28 AM

Anonymous said...
Here are more related comments from FBNow.com:

66 Robert Cocheu - Apr 20, 08:07 pm
Please see my comments under the Hiring more teachers article and let’s get this discussion on track. Candidates or their supporters answer the questions:
-What kind of Superintendent do we need?
-How do we get the budget under control?
-How do we improve our test scores and get our teacher/student ratio back in line?
-How do we go about developing a long range plan for the district?

Once again be warned, anyone who “spins” I will challenge with facts just a tidbit. Susan stated above that there was a long range plan. I have heard Lee Petros state on a number of occassions at zoning meetings as well quoted in the Star as saying that “bond elections are the long range plan.” Bond elections are NOT a long range plan. Bond elections are what you use to implement the funding for a plan.

67 Susan - Apr 20, 10:18 pm
No pay from anyone, schoolwise. I am my own person. I have no “sworn enemies.” Thanks again for noting that I am not associated with the self-proclaimed “new guard.” You are so very nice!

Who are you working to elect to the school board? Mitton? Jay? Dieu? Howard?

68 schoolwise - Apr 21, 05:48 am
You are correct Robert and I agree that bond elections are no solution or long range plan. Also the district needs a district-wide zoning plan and not more “special favors” to the mega-developments. This needs to be fair to all kids.

IMHO, Petros has been working with this crowd far too long and has become part of the problem!

69 Liz Mitton - Apr 21, 04:45 pm
I have posted my responses to the questions posed by Mr. Cocheu above (which are also questions being asked by voters at most of the candidate forums to date) on my website:
www.lizmittoncampaign.blogspot.com

70 citizenteacher - Apr 22, 09:57 am
I’ve taught for over 25 years. There is no defense for a teacher who leaves a class unattended. To try and shift the blame onto the student or the parent is reprehensible.

71 Robert Cocheu - Apr 22, 10:26 am
Liz,

I reviewed your answers on your website. Thank you for responding.

To all other candidates,

If you have not responded. Please show some courage and do so. Lack of response to these very important questions seems to indicate a “unclear” motivation as to why you wish to serve on the board.

9:39 AM

Anonymous said...
"Anonymous said...
The fact that Steve Dieu supports the ridiculous decision of Rickert, Caldwell, Bryant and Magee to force Dr. Baitland to retire without a plan or a thought to how they would ever find a replacement tells me he doesn't know as much as he pretends about management or personnel issues. Sounds like he might well fit with the current gang. They have not yet figured out that they are not supposed to be making every decsion about the day to day operations of the district--with most disasterous results."

_______

Sounds like more "old guard" politics to me. I ask those posting and reading these to ask themselves one question. Why is it so important for the old style cronyism to return to the board? Look at who is giving the money behind the candidates and ask yourself, can they really represent all families in FBISD or are they out for themselves? Who uses these tactics? Look at the candidates who threaten lawsuits and then smear the others running who have vowed off special interest and vendor financing . . . sounds like other recent races in this county. VOTE FOR INDEPENDENT candidates--check their contributions list first for ethics violations and then decide (don't be fooled)!

GOOD LUCK!

9:45 AM

Anonymous said...
Yes, please do look to see who is supporting ALL candidates. There are some very strong ultra-right wing forces at work on the side of the self proclaimed "new guard" who have no love for public schools.

9:55 AM

Anonymous said...
More scare tactics??? The district is under growth stress. Look it up. Many districts are going through it and it shows in conflict at the board level. The only solution is to think outside the box and find ways to improve finance through state legislation that requires all stake-holders, even the profiteers, to the table to kick-in. Not by returning their hired flunkies to deepen the problem!

9:58 AM

Can'tbebullied said...
. . . ;-)

--at a loss for words again. Keep it coming!

10:00 AM

Anonymous said...
Thought some of you reading this would appreciate its impact. Politics as usual in FB county? This post comes from FBNow.com:

28 - - Apr 22, 10:55 am
Just thought you Sienna residents should know that I was driving on hwy 6 in front of your subdivision and viewed an interesting sight. The grounds workers were pulling up what looked like “Poats for Mayor” signs while leaving the Allen Owen sign in place facing highway 6. Just thought you all would like to know this tidbit.

10:05 AM

responsible_dvlpmnt said...
If you all can get a picture of this happening we will post it here.

10:06 AM

Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the blog administrator.

11:10 AM

Anonymous said...
I'll try. . . =-)

5:07 PM

Anonymous said...
Guess which area developer, who is a big supporter of Mr. Owen, gives time/money to this Delay charity?

read this article for the full story:

http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/PubArticleTX.jsp?id=1145017720982

5:38 PM

Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the blog administrator.

5:17 AM

Anonymous said...
When questioned last night at the Sienna candidate forum as to why he had not filed his campaign finance reports on time, Mr. Dieu (lawyer whose job includes forcing "deadbeat dads" to follow the law) claimed that he had been "too busy." (He claims he filed the reports on 4/24. They were due on 4/13.)

If Mr. Dieu is "too busy" to file his reports, how is he going to have time to do the job of trustee?

6:11 AM

Anonymous said...
Good question, but did you ask that of the others or expose who their contributors were since you had the information available? Or would that have hurt your candidates?

8:09 AM

Anonymous said...
I believe that is one of the most commonly heard complaints by the TX ethics commission and usually on new candidates struggling with compliance. Hardly a scandal.

8:16 AM

Anonymous said...
You guys amaze me with the excuses you come up with for unethical, unprofessional and/or ignorant behavior by elected officials. At least you make the excuses for the ones you are backing.

I have looked at all the campaign finance reports and see nothing amiss with the candidates I am backing. They seem to have very wide based community support. And they DID manage to file their reports on time!

6:12 PM

Anonymous said...
That's interesting considering your candidates endorsements (Smelley). Wide-based community support, but funding from Houston corp. exes. You sure like to leave out the important details. You see anyone can get those reports! Here is the formula for Steve:

Houston developer (with local business interest) + Smelley = another smelley repeat on the board

Oh yes we forgot his wife's service on the foundation board and the other favors while serving . . . ? right

but no SS can do no wrong as long as he is backed by the "right" people now.

3:47 AM

Anonymous said...
According to his finance report filed on 4/13, Mr. Smelley's "wide base of support" come from primarily three places with high dollar donations:
1)FBISD Establishment types:
Jane Clarke $250
Rita Drabek $100
Dot Hightower $125
Linda Ruckman $100
Lawrence Baitland (Betty's son) $500*
Frank Yonish (Bain's former treasurer)

2) Ft. Bend Education Board members (which his wife is the executive director of):
Stephen Jackson $200
Richard Booker $100
Gary Dante $500
Stanley Stein $100
Dennis Halford $100
Candace Novak $250
Kolbe Curtice $250

3) District vendors
Murray Neal $1000.00
Vinson & Elkins PAC $500
Mark McGrath (Null Lairson) $100
John Null (Null Lairson) $250
Lina Sabouni (architect)$500

Then you have several high dollar out of district donations:

Maryella Cosby, Houston $300
Joseph Blasi (Bellaire) $100
David Smelley (Houston) $100
Ben "Bud" Childers (Richmond) $250.
Lawrence Baitland* (League City ) $500
Johathan Parow (Spring) $250
Bob Bass (Rosenberg) $200
Gary Blanton (The Woodlands) $500.

Yeah -- it really looks like a true "grassroots" campaign to me.. NOT.

The establishment and money folks are all over this guy. BTW -- How ethical is it to have Smelley's wife (head of the FB Education Foundtion) using Foundation resources to campaign on his behalf?

While her salary may be paid by the Foundation (a nice arrangement set up while Mr. Smelley was a Board member last go around), she offices in the District headquarters, her secretary is paid by the District, and she uses District resources supplied by the taxpayers. Yet, I've received e-mails from Mrs. Smelley, using the Foundation volunteer list, on behalf of her husband.

Nice set up if you can get it....

5:22 AM

Anonymous said...
Steve Smelley served our district for many years. There was NEVER a hint of any impopriety during the years of his service (contrary to the libelous statements printed by Mitton and Levine that someone has chosen to repeat here). Too bad we can't say the same thing about the last year! Steve NEVER allowed his vote to be purchsed or influenced by campaign contributions. That sir, is a FACT.

Other candidates supported by the anti-developer crowd have taken tons of money from district vendors--check Lisa Rickert's and Stan Magee's campaign reports and you will find some of the same names that have given to Smelley. Rickert also has many "wanna be" district vendors on her list. Convenient since she seems intent on removing much of the staff and breaking/altering many of the district contracts.

Further, DEVELOPER Robert Elberger gave Mitton $500. I'm sure his contribution was purely "for the good of the children" considering that Mitton has stated that the BOT should be more actively involved in choosing the land the district purchases for schools (remember Delores Roberts and Lake Olympia Middle?).

My personal theory on the "district vendor" crowd is that they (like so very many FBISD residents) are embarassed and remorseful about their previous support of Rickert, Caldwell, Bryant and Magee and now they want to remedy the situation by assisting someone who will have the knowlege and experience and courage to stand up and tell Rickert to remember that FBISD exisits to educate children, not for her personal political pleasure.

5:50 AM

Anonymous said...
That's interesting that the only potential conflict you actually state is by one small local developer who has every right to kick-in to local campaigns. I think the poster above who listed many of the conflicts of Smelley adequately supported their case (good data--thanks).

It's also kinda funny when you think that everytime someone posts accurate verifiable information on Smelley, him or his backers threaten lawsuits. Someone should also mention that if you look up the corporate interests on the Smelley list above you get a virtual who's who of banking, land law firms and land development along with old guard administrative types.

Thanks for posting all and keep the discussion going. Open and honest communications is what this nation was built on and helps people decide how to cast their vote! Fight corporate censorship!!!

2:40 PM

Anonymous said...
. . . ;-)

2:41 PM

Anonymous said...
So it was wrong of Smelley to take money from the same people who gave to Rickert and Magee?

That seems to be your argument.

3:38 PM

Anonymous said...
Are large developers "evil" but smaller developers "good"? Is it OK for a small developer to support a candidate with a $500 contribution, but wrong for a large developer to do the same? Upon what criterion do you base your assumption that certain candidates are "on the take" and their votes are for sale, while others accepting money from the very same people are "honorable"?

3:45 PM

Anonymous said...
If a mega-developer bases its company in San Antonio or even Houston they are "out of area special interest" (do not vote in our local elections). If they are a small company just trying to get by and live here and don't use questionable business and political tactics I think that speaks volumes (i.e. the good guys). Not all developers sue their own customer base, etc...

4:46 PM

Anonymous said...
. . . ;-); 6:05 PM
Anonymous said...: Here's the FB Sun article on this:

School board candidates comment on campaign contributions
By: Diane Tezeno, News Reporter
04/25/2006
Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly
Liz Mitton, candidate for Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees, Position 6, has said that she will not accept campaign contributions from vendors who do business with the school district.

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Mitton said, "I will not accept campaign donations from anyone with a significant interest in a current FBISD vendor or one seeking to do business with the school district. She challenged her opponents in the race to do the same.
"Accepting donations from vendors, while certainly legal, can lead to a perception of conflict of interest," said Mitton. "This has been an issue in the recent past when Board members have voted to award sizeable contracts to organizations from which they have accepted campaign funds."
In a further clarification, Mitton said, "I will not accept donations from any individual (or partnership) who has a primary interest in a company doing business with (or actively seeking to do business with) the district for the reasons I outlined in my original press release.
Mitton said she respects companies that do business with Fort Bend ISD but feels they should limit their contributions to service organizations like the Fort Bend Education Foundation or school PTOs.
"The perception of a conflict, unfortunately, cuts both ways," said Mitton. "Respectable companies that do a great job for FBISD and deserve to do continued business with it, should not be subjected to suggestions that their campaign contributions influenced the decision making process....follow the link to this thread above in the title link for the full article...

--It would be nice if Allen Owen took this pledge--oh yes it's too late . . . ;-); 6:08 PM
Anonymous said...: Another FB Sun piece on zoning and equity:

Zoning and school ratings figure in school debate
By: Chad Washington, News Reporter
04/25/2006
Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly
Rezoning, school ratings and qualifications for a new superintendent were the main topics discussed at a candidate's forum for the Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees in New Territory.

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Seven of the eight candidates were represented at the forum, sponsored by the New Territory Residential Community Asso-ciation. The candidates were asked several questions by RTRCA president Bart Hatfield about issues that face the district in preparation for the May 13 election.
One question was the process for rezoning schools, which New Territory went into in late 2004, when the subdivision was split in half between Austin High School and the new Travis High School, which opens this August. Many New Territory residents wanted their children to go to one high school.
But some candidates felt that rezoning could be necessary to relive those schools that are overcrowded, but trying to maintain a sense of community.
"We don't need to rezone every school, but we need to look at those that are at or near capacity, former board president and Position 2 candidate Hal Jay said. "It needs to be done rationally. Not to look like its been gerrymandered. It needs to be structured."
But former board member and Position 6 candidate Steve Smelley believes that it is time for the whole district to be rezoned.
Dan Kerr, campaign manager for Position 6 candidate Wayne Howard, offered another alternative.
"Wayne is for restructuring and having an open school system, to have students choose where they want to go," he said.
But others feel that the rezoning procedure is a result of the board not looking ahead to see the growing population trends in one of the fastest growing areas in America.
"The larger question is planning. We need long-term planning, that is what is lacking in this district," Position 2 candidate Steven Dieu said. "This district grows so fast than the board can handle."
Position 6 candidate Liz Mitton said that the district should have a 10-year plan to see how the district will grow and how to keep the community involved when a new school is built.
"We've got to get more community input," Mitton said.
Also, a few candidates criticized the board for not moving forward in finding a new superintendent.
Dr. Betty Baitland retired at the end of 2005, meaning that FBISD has gone four and a half months without a full-time superintendent and without any candidates for the job.
"We are so far behind the eight-ball," Jay said. "I don't see a new superintendent before school starts. We should be now interviewing candidates."
As for the new superintendent's qualifications, several candidates feel that not only should the best candidate have not only experience in the classroom, but also have a financial background to manage the $400 million budget effectively.
"Superintendents do not teach, teachers do," Dieu said. "What we need in a superintendent is a teacher with a lot of management experience. Someone that needs to look at the budget and have financial responsibility."
But a couple of candidates said that the next superintendent must have a strong vision of education and bringing the schools' ratings back up.
"We must have someone who has a vision for education besides simplistic statements," Mitton said. "Where do we want to have this district at in 10 years?" . . .

--See the article in the Sun for the rest-of-the-story!; 6:13 PM
Anonymous said...: More from FBISD candidates forum thread below:

Anonymous said...
If a mega-developer bases its company in San Antonio or even Houston they are "out of area special interest" (do not vote in our local elections). If they are a small company just trying to get by and live here and don't use questionable business and political tactics I think that speaks volumes (i.e. the good guys). Not all developers sue their own customer base, etc...

4:46 PM

Anonymous said...
. . . ;-)

4:47 PM

Anonymous said...
Looking at Lisa Rickert's 2004 campaign reports, she raised a total of $7,030 with the following contributors noted:

Andy Meyers Campaign Fund - $100
Christopher Breau (Null Lairson district vendor) $100
Lynn Humphries (Allen, Boone, Humphries) $100
James Patterson Campaign - $50
CC Lee (engineer/architect Houston)- $200
Linebarger Googgan Blair & Sampson LLP (district vendor) - $500
Mark McGrath (Null Lairson district vendor) - $250
Pete Moerbeck (Surfside CA)- $150
John Null(Null Lairson district vendor) - $450
Grady Prestage - $100
Randy Reimer (Null Lairson vendor)- $100
Charles Rencher (commercial real estate) - $100
Lina Sabouni (architect district vendor)- $200
Alan Sandersen (CPA & wanna be district vendor) - $100
Chuck Yaple (Null Lairson vendor) - $100
Allen Boone & Humphries LLP (lawyers) - $500
Fort Bend Business Alliance PAC - $1000
James Thompson Campaign $100
James Pezant (Slidell LA) $100
Deidre Scinta (CPA Houston) $200
Lewis Smith (anti-tax political activist) $500

This accounts for $4,900 of her total or 69%. Is THAT broad based support? I think not! Rickert relied on milking district vendors and wanna be vendors to fund her campaign. But I'm sure that was just fine with you guys......

8:03 PM

Anonymous said...
I see so you are trying to smear Mitton with Rickerts campaign report? How is that not disinformation and your justifying Smelley's taking because Rickert took? Also I noticed rather than collapse the repeat givers you simple play it again for effect?

How is an anti-tax political activist, you mention above, even relevant in this discussion?

--One good thing is you are encouraging people to "follow the money trail" and through this previous posting indirectly demonstrate disapproval for your own candidates inability to take the pledge (as stated in the FB Sun article--see above thread and renew the dialogue in that comment section).

--You and your group have also assumed wrongly that posters here voted for or supported Rickert.

--I think we can be tickled that you have stopped threatening people with lawsuits and are now discussing the real issues that influence many of our area politicians. Welcome to the club!

3:19 AM; 3:21 AM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; 3:39 AM
Anonymous said...: "intheknow" - posted:

Under the leadership of the “new” board members we have seen:
1) A larger salary increase (double) for teachers compared to what the administration was originally proposing;
2) A move toward more open governance as evidenced by audits now available to the public and being heard in open, not closed, session;
3) A more open and inclusive zoning process and facilities naming process;
4) A move to radically improve the District’s dangerously outdated IT infrastructure that was full of security holes;
5) An effort to reduce legal fees (that have skyrocketed in recent years not due to Board actions, but due to an administration that would rather fight parents at all costs than make accommodations required by law);
6) An effort to put a real long-range plan in place that looks beyond the next bond election;
7) greater emphasis on accountability at all levels;
Approval of a new program to track student performance that promises to greatly increase teacher productivity and help identify early when individual students or groups of students are underperforming;
9) A move this budget year to significantly increase the number of teachers hired compared to non-teaching positions; and
10) An overall effort to bring a more business-like approach to governance.

They have managed to do this in the face of extreme opposition to change from the “older” Board members and the previous administration leadership who ran, unsuccessfully, to the TEA for help—and kept the Board from moving forward on important issues for months and was the primary cause of the divisive attitudes.; 5:25 AM
Anonymous said...: just dropping by to say hi; 8:45 AM
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MissouriCityChatter

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

FBISD Candidates Piece in the FB SUN (click on title link to see the article)-

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