State Inspectors Requested By Several Candidates In Local FBISD and City Races!

See: http://www.myfortbend.net/news/local/politics/1373-fbw-request-reportedly-made-to-state-to-monitor-local-elections

BREAKING NEWS FROM FBN: FBISD Police Chief Will Leave Force By End Of The Year!

Controversial Fort Bend ISD Police Chief To Retire At End Of Year
September 24th, 2009 | by John Pape, Fortbendnow

Fort Bend ISD Police Chief J.L. Campbell has announced he will retire and the end of the year.

Campbell made his plans known to police personnel in a memo dated Tuesday. FBISD Chief Communications Officer Mary Ann Simpson also confirmed the chief had notified district administrators he plans to retire.

In the memo, Campbell told police personnel that “it is time for me to begin a new journey on my career path.” He said he would retire effective Dec. 31 after 15 years with the department....(search earlier articles on this item)

Full story: http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/09/24/40729

http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/09/24/40729/924-fbisd-police-chief-letter-fb

Background:

http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/01/02/34462

http://fbisdwatch.blogspot.com/2009/01/fbisdwatch-issues-call-for.html

http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/01/05/34534

http://missouricitychatter.blogspot.com/search?q=FBISDwatch+seeks+investigation

FBW: FBISDWatch Seeks Investigation Of High Ranking School Official!

FBISDWatch ISSUES CALL FOR INVESTIGATION!
Sonal Bhuchar, FBISD BOT President
Steve Smelley, FBISD BOT Vice President
Dr. Tim Jenney, FBISD Superintendent
Laurie Caldwell, FBISD BOT member
Bob Broxson, FBISD BOT member
David Reitz, FBISD BOT member
Susan Hohnbum, FBISD BOT member
Dan Menendez, FBISD BOT member

January, 2009

Dear FBISD Trustees & Dr. Jenney,

We just wanted to let you know how much FBISDWatch appreciates the hard work and dedication you all have displayed for much of this past year, realizing how little compensation you do receive for your efforts. Further, we are confident, that during this current budgetary crisis, that you all will continue to honor and represent your constituents in your fiduciary obligations as our elected officials regarding educational over-site and restraint.

This being said, it has come to our attention that during much of 2008 the FBISD police chief, J.L. Campbell, was reportedly absent from his job and may have been using district resources in an out of county political race. This quote was obtained from a local media source and has been verified.

“Following the election, several Fort Bend ISD police officers contacted FortBendNow and accused Campbell of using his school district office to run his campaign and district administrators of turning a blind eye to the use of district resources and time for a political race.” FortBendNow

Additionally, several internal sources reportedly have undergone unwarranted pressure from police administration after these stories began, this according to the same sources.

It is our sincere hope, that as our elected representatives and district administration, that these allegations will be thoroughly reviewed by the board and later the Texas Ethics Commission. This is our formal request that the school board review and report to the public on this situation upon its earliest opportunity.

We sincerely appreciate your attention to this very serious matter.


FBISDWatchDogs


***********
FBISDWatch
fbisdwatch@yahoo.com
http://fbisdwatch.blogspot.com/
FB County-FBISD

FB Chronicle: FBISD Bond Committee Members Call For More Transparency In Government!

Committee scales back school bond proposal to $429 million

By ZEN T. C. ZHENG
Houston Chronicle

After nearly two months of number-crunching and debating, a Fort Bend school district committee on Tuesday night slashed nearly $48 million off a $490 million bond proposal.

The $429.4 million bundle that the 60-member committee agreed on includes $1.02 million in campus improvements. On the wish list are numerous improvements to First Colony Middle School, including its interior, sound systems, carpeting and locker rooms, and a divider wall at Goodman Elementary.

The bond package would swell a bit more if improvements are considered for Blue Ridge Elementary School.

Fresno resident and committee member Rodrigo Carreon brought attention to the deterioration of the 38-year-old campus, and on Tuesday night the district agreed to investigate the campus' renovation needs.

"I'm happier now," said Carreon, who graduated from Blue Ridge in 1979. "The school district hasn't done anything to my school. It's falling apart. The kitchen, the restroom and everything there are still the same. They have been used for 38 years." . . . (click title link above for more)

Would Single Member Districts Benefit MC Area Representation On The FBISD School Board?

Click the title link to catch-up on this discussion with former BOT candidate Pinnock heading this drive.


Stay informed and keep in touch!

New Sienna School Expected To Open At Capacity: No Relief In Sight (Record School Bond Election Coming)!

From the chronicle:

Construction contract for new Fort Bend school is approved
'Cookie-cutter design' will save millions, trustee says

By ZEN T. C. ZHENG
Houston Chronicle


Fort Bend school officials on Monday picked a Houston company for the construction of a new elementary school in the Sienna Plantation area with a deal that promises multimillion-dollar savings for the district.

The board of trustees unanimously approved awarding a $12.5 million contract to Brookstone LP, which the district has used for other construction projects.

School officials had previously estimated the campus to cost up to $17 million, including land, design, construction and furnishings. . .

. . . The school will be built on a 12-acre tract northwest of Baines Middle School. The district bought the land earlier this year for more than $601,100.

The school, which will accommodate 860 students, is scheduled to open in August 2008.

"We are experiencing explosive growth in that area, and the new school is critically needed," said Mary Ann Simpson, a district spokeswoman. . .


Comment:

responsible_dvlpmnt wrote:

So let's recap the issues in the excellent article above. First we have "explosive growth" so we need to approve a record setting bond in the Fall to keep up with it. Our school board isn't seeking anything from those responsible for this growth and making a great deal of money off of it. Wouldn't it be wise to seek kick-in on the land in some of these larger master-planned communities that use the schools to attract customers? For these same companies over-developing zoning/tax buster apartments in our county, shouldn't we add an impact fee to help the district keep up with the growth and not just pass the buck along to the taxpayers? Shouldn't we also stop borrowing against the bonds for new schools prior to the voters approval?

It would seem that a double A bond rating is NOT an optimal rating and we need to make some changes in how FBISD (and many FB districts) are doing business. Bring the corporations to the table who directly benefit from this growth while it hurts our schools and families, don't you think? Growth may be good, but unmanaged growth will continue to harm our struggling school system.

Background:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/fortbend/news/4881419.html

Close MC Council Races By Reform Candidates & Wins In Arcola Council Races! -- Click title link for full county results

Click the title link above for complete school district and municipal races. Close MC council races in districts A, B & C denote demand for council reform in coming 2008 mayoral and at large races. . .

Get related FBN report at: http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/2909/mobility-bond-wins-broxson-reitz-replace-rickert-bryant?

Stay informed and keep in touch!

FBN: New Sienna School May Open Over Capacity (click title link for full story--just damn good planning, right?)

Rapid Growth Means New FBISD Elementary Will Be Full Upon Opening
by Bob Dunn, Apr 24, 2007

Last month, Fort Bend Independent School District’s board agreed to spend money in the district’s fund balance to bring a new elementary school on line in Sienna Plantation by 2008, to relieve severe overcrowding at Scanlan Oaks and Sienna Crossing elementaries.

Last night, board members and administrators wrestled with the mathematics behind that move, and the stark realization that by the time the new elementary is opened in fall 2008, both it and the other two existing schools will be full to the brim with students. . .

. . .Trustee Stan Magee noted that he’s advocated building larger schools because of rapid population growth in new developments. “Sienna’s explosive,” Magee said. “Aliana is about going to eat our lunch. Telfair is explosive.”

Superintendent Dr. Timothy Jenney said the district is in its present position because of “a matter of timing. The issue tonight is whether or not we want to open up in 2008 with additional temporary buildings” and then move students to a new, larger Sienna elementary school half-way through the school year.

“We need to start owning some of these drawings,” Trustee Ken Bryant said of architects’ plans for existing schools, “and store them in our file cabinets. We haven’t explored this, Lee. It’s called owning the product.”

“We own this one, Ken,” Smelley replied.


Comment: How about the local districts pushing for developer kick-in on the land. That would save millions and help the schools to keep up with the growth.

FBN Reports On Recent FBISD Candidate Endorsements!

FBISD Employee Union Endorses Pinnock, Broxson In Board Race
by Bob Dunn, Apr 13, 2007

Fort Bend Independent School District Board candidates Bob Broxson and Noel Pinnock won endorsements Friday from the Fort Bend Employee Federation.

The endorsements came less than 24 hours after the 1,500-member arm of the American Federation of Teachers labor union held a public forum for FBISD board candidates.

Pinnock, a Missouri City educator with the Houston Independent School District, is running against incumbent Position 7 board Trustee Ken Bryant and challengers David Reitz and Ann Hopkins.

Broxson, a consultant, is running for board Position 3 against incumbent Trustee Lisa Rickert.

The employee federation, which says it represents about one of every five employees, and about one in four teachers at FBISD, did not issue a statement elaborating on the endorsements. The board election will be held May 12. . . (click title link for more).

MCC Exclusive: Pinnock Garners FBEF Endorsement, An Arm of the American Federation of Teachers!

Just in to MCC:

Noel Pinnock, one of the front runners in the position 7 FBISD school board races, has just been endorsed by the Fort Bend Employees Federation (FBEF), a wing of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest professional teacher associations in the country. Mr. Pinnock resides here in Missouri City and announced in March his intentions to seek a seat on the school board. He is in his second decade as an educator and has a child in FBISD schools.

Pinnock garnered the honor after his performance at the Marriott Hotel at Sugar Land Town Square. SOS, a local community watchdog website, recognized Noels strong showing in the local district races in a recent release. When asked what his three primary areas of concern are in the district Mr. Pinnock stated that "transparency in government and fiscal accountability are essential to efficient school operations and will free up tax dollars for the classroom and help alleviate over-crowding".

Readers can get additional information at the Pinnock virtual campaign headquarters at:

http://pinnockforschoolboard.blogspot.com/


Stay informed and keep in touch!

FBN Covers Candidates Forum at the Marriot--

Fort Bend ISD Board Candidates Outline Goals, Vie For Union Support
by Bob Dunn, Apr 13, 2007

The campaign for two Fort Bend Independent School District board seats swung into high gear Thursday night, as candidates appeared at the season’s first public forum and vied for endorsements by the Fort Bend Employee Federation.

Three of the four candidates present – Board Position 3 incumbent Lisa Rickert and challenger Bob Broxson, and Board Position 7 challenger Noel Pinnock – answered in the affirmative to a key question posed by the 1,500-member federation, an arm of the American Federation of Teachers labor union.

The question: “Would you vote to allow FBISD employees to elect their own representatives to meet and confer with the administration on matters of policy and procedures?”

Position 7 challenger David Reitz didn’t provide a direct answer to the question, saying “I can’t tell you right now one way or the other.”

Follow the link below for the full story (or click the title link):


http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/2785/fort-bend-isd-board-candidates-outline-goals-vie-for-unioin-support

FBISD Candidate Forums (From SOS)-

These are the dates for the FBISD forums. Please attend if you can:

Fort Bend Employee Federation Forum Sugar Land Marriot --April 12 7:00 - 9:30 pm

Retired Teacher's Association is hosting a candidate forum 1st Colony Conference Center-- April 19th at 1:00 pm

New Territory Community Assoc. Forum 1200 Walker School Rd. --April 19th 7:30 - 9:30 pm

A Concerned Citizens Group Glover Elementary - 1510 Columbia Blue Dr --April 19th 7:00 - 9:00 pm

AARP Meeting is allowing candidates to speak briefly at their regular meeting scheduled at the Senior Center on Matlage --April 25th at 1:00 pm

Community Forum for Old Sugar Land Sugar Land Library on Eldridge -- April 26th 7:00 - 9:00 pm

Fresno Education Steering Committee is hosting a forum held at Ft. Bend MUD 23 M.R. Massey Administration building at 1570 Raab Rd. in Fresno -- May 1st at 7:00 pm


Get full SOS release at: http://save-our-schools.blogspot.com/2007/04/fbisd-candidate-forums-coming-up.html

FB Star Covers Mo-City/District Elections!--click the title link for more--

FBISD & Missouri City have largest number of candidates filed

By Barbara Fulenwider
The candidate filing season for seats on the Fort Bend ISD board and city councils has ended with the school district and Missouri City district council races each attracting the largest number of candidates.

Seven people filed to run for two school district trustee positions, eight filed to run for four Missouri City district seats, five filed to run for four Sugar Land district seats and the only mayor who is running for re-election in an east Fort Bend County town is Leonard Scarcella and he drew one opponent while the three Stafford city councilmen up for re-election all filed and have no opponents.

The two candidates vying for FBISD Trustee Position 3 are incumbent Lisa Rickert and John Robert Broxson. Broxson lists his occupation as consultant, is 50 years old, has lived in Sugar Land for almost 11 years and in the district for nine and a half years. Rickert, 44, lists her occupation as computer consultant and has lived in Sugar Land and the school district for almost 15 years. She is seeking a second three-year term

The five candidates running for Position 7 on the school board are one-term incumbent Ken Bryant, 54, attorney; Daniel Mendez, 36, engineer; David Reitz, 42, manager; Noel Pinnock, 33, educator, and Annie Mae Hopkins, 58, FBISD administrator.

In Missouri City eight people filed to run for four council seats and only one incumbent, Brett Kolaja, who represents District D, filed for re-election and has no opponent. Eunice Reiter, an accountant and the District A incumbent, filed for re-election and will oppose Rodney Leverett Griffin, who is self employed in financial services. Reiter has lived in Missouri City for 43 years and Griffin has lived there almost 27 years.

Candidates for the District B council seat are incumbent Don Smith, a retiree, who has lived in the city for 64 years. He is opposed by Cynthia Lenton-Gary, a professor of sociology and Missouri City resident for 27 years, and Louis Henry Hunter, a mortgage broker and 18-year Missouri City resident.

It’s a two person race for the District C seat with Kevin Dale Tunstall and Barbara Jo Gibson running. Tunstall is a healthcare administrator and resident for almost six years and Gibson is retired and has lived in Missouri City for almost 27 years. Council Member Bob Burton filed for re-election to the District C seat and then withdrew. . .(click the title link above for the full story).


Comment: If you are a Sienna area resident then call/e-mail or contact the challengers in the city race to see if you can help! These council members make decisions for the entire city including the ETJ areas and we need to let them know we count. Remember the current incumbents (without our input) recently ok'd another taxing district in our community and voted in favor of a plan that will increase our MUD debt load. Support the challengers in districts A, B and C and consider being a volunteer in the Arcola races too for Hilton, Rojas or DeVoge who oppose the airport expansion project that will increase air traffic over our community impacting our quality of life.

Contact these candidates to support them: Rodney Griffin (District A), Kevin Tunstall (District C), & Lou Hunter (District B). See their info below:

Missouri City:

http://elect.kdtunstall.com/
kdtunstall@houston.rr.com -- Tunstall

griffin7918@sbcglobal.net -- Griffith

louhhunter@yahoo.com -- Hunter

FBISD Missouri City Area Candidate Noel Pinnock can be reached at -- noelpinnock@gmail.com

Arcola:

Tom Hilton at http://www.citizensforbettergovt.org/ (or call him, he is listed in the Arcola directory).

Rosie Rojas & James DeVoge (or call them, they are listed in the Arcola directory).


--We will continue to update this thread as the election season continues!

Sienna Plans A TIRZ In North Sienna: School District May Not Participate (click title link for the full story from the Chronicle)--

School district cools to idea of participating in TIRZ

By ZEN T. C. ZHENG
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

The Fort Bend school district likely will not be part of a tax increment reinvestment zone that Missouri City aims to create over 590 acres in the Sienna North area.

The board of trustees Monday night approved the city's request for a waiver of a 60-day notice period to hold a public hearing, which the city is shooting for this month, on the issue.

The board also OK'd the city's request for not not conducting a presentation on the proposal to the school board.

David Hawes, a consultant for the city, said the city made the requests assuming the school district would not be interested in participating in the TIRZ.

A TIRZ collects taxes from its members and uses the revenues for improvements of the area within the zone, such as on infrastructure.

A 1991 change in a state law concerning school funding financially penalizes school districts for such participation, Hawes said.

"That change made it financially disadvantageous to school districts to participate. So we didn't ask the Fort Bend school district to do that," Hawes said. . . (click the title link above for more).

--------------

Visit http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/2645/council-puts-mo-city-on-course-to-acquire-troubled-quail-valley-country-club for an update on the city purchase of QVCC in Quail Valley as a public golf course.


Stay informed and keep in touch!

From the Chronicle: Sienna School Zoning Gets FBISD Attention--

Fort Bend ISD, trustees get barrage of queries on zoning
Some parents object to repeated rezoning of pupils

By SESHADRI KUMAR
Chronicle Correspondent

The proposed zoning for Elkins and Hightower high schools, which hinges on splitting Sienna Plantation into two groups, is among issues eliciting a large number of comments from parents in the Fort Bend Independent School District.

Other issues are implementing a kindergarten-to-sixth-grade campus concept at nine elementaries and housing only grades 7-8 at Missouri City and Christa McAuliffe middle schools, establishing a gifted-and-talented middle school academy, and zoning for a new elementary in Telfair. . . .

--One resident made a popular suggestion for helping with over-crowding--

. . ."Leslie Bauer of Lake Olympia has two suggestions: one for long term and one for the short term. Bauer said the school district should lobby the Legislature and pass a law to make developers of big master-planned communities donate land and contribute to building schools. This is being done successfully in other states, she said." . . .(click title link above for more).


Don't miss the Hightower zoning meeting Feb. 15th at 6p. at the campus!


--Stay informed and keep in touch!--

From FBN: Zoning Battles Heat Up

Fort Bend ISD Board Gets An Earful From Parents Upset Over District Rezoning Plans
by Bob Dunn, Feb 12, 2007, 11 27 pm

After a Monday workshop in which Fort Bend Independent School District Board trustees made little apparent progress toward a final redrawing of school attendance zones, two groups of parents illustrated the difficulties inherent in that task.

At a regular FBISD board meeting Monday night after the workshop, parents packed the meeting room, and several assailed trustees over preliminary rezoning plans for the district. . . (click title link to get more).

Zoning props available at http://www.fortbend.k12.tx.us/cmf/default.cfm?module=tidbits§ion=parentlinks


Comment: If you are concerned about the over-crowding at our Sienna area schools and the proposed split of the high school attendance zone, then you may want to attend the nearest zoning meeting this Feb. 15th at Hightower. The mtg. will start at 6p.


Stay informed and keep in touch!