BRENHAM SCHOOL BOARD PASSES BUDGET, NAMES FIRM TO LEAD SUPT. SEARCH
The Brenham School Board adopted the school district budget and tax rate and selected a firm to conduct the search for a new superintendent at a four-hour meeting on Monday.
The total budget of $60,839,217 was passed on a 5-2 vote, with trustees Kyle Hafner and Archer Archer voting against. The tax rate of $0.7693 per $100 valuation was approved unanimously.
The budget comes with an estimated revenue shortfall of $4,580,194. It assumes no enrollment growth from the end of this past school year and does not include pay raises for teachers.
During a public hearing that lasted about 45 minutes, trustees commented on the difficulty of the situation. Hafner wanted to see if there were any more places the district could make reductions, while Archer called the deficit “scary” and said he could not support a budget in this manner.
Board President Natalie Lange said Brenham ISD “desperately” needs its basic allotment from the state for average daily attendance to increase, given the high inflation in recent years. Trustee Tommie Sullivan said it hurt his heart to have to tell teachers that the district cannot give them a raise, but reassured that Brenham ISD will overcome this. Trustee Bonnie Brinkmeyer said the board and district will do everything they can to take care of the kids.
The approved tax rate consists of $0.6893 for maintenance and operations and $0.08 for interest and sinking. It is the highest tax rate that could be approved without needing to be passed by voters, but actually falls below the calculated no-new-revenue rate of $0.920898 per $100.
If Texas voters pass the $100,000 homestead exemption approved by legislators in their most recent special session, this will mean a reduction in taxes for the average home. The tax levy on a home valued at $200,000 would decrease by $726 from the previous year, while a home valued at $300,000 would see its tax levy reduced by $891.
Trustees also voted 5-2 to engage with the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Executive Search Services to lead the effort to find a successor for Dr. Tylor Chaplin, who will retire from his role as Brenham ISD’s superintendent at the end of December. Hafner and Archer voted against.
The board listened to three presentations lasting over an hour from TASB, Rhonda Crass of Leasor Crass, P.C. and Sheryl Moore of Leon Alcala, PLLC. After the presentations, trustees debated for roughly half an hour on which direction they wished to pursue.
The cost for each firm was $6,500 plus additional cost for expenses like mileage for Leasor Crass, which is based out of Mansfield; $6,500 all-inclusive for Sheryl Moore, who is a retired superintendent from Sealy ISD; and $7,800 all-inclusive for TASB.
At the beginning of the meeting, several residents came forward during public comment to discuss the superintendent search, with some suggesting to try a different method rather than a search firm. One of those who spoke was State Senator Lois Kolkhorst, who said trustees need to be able to retain the final say in reviewing applicants, rather than the outside firm. A letter written by Kolkhorst to the board can be read here.
Hafner and Archer were both in favor of Leasor Crass because of the firm’s emphasis on local control. Lange, Sullivan and Jared Krenek vocalized their support of TASB, given its larger resources and prior experience with Brenham ISD. The school district engaged with TASB to hire Dr. Walter Jackson as its superintendent in 2015.
Mr Yeager was good! Dr.Jackson was good! You patting yourself on back saying your good! Hmm! It seems your concerned with faculty and not the students!
There are several people in Brenham qualified to run Brenham ISD and they will stay because they have no reason to move and would not do be the superintendent because of money but because of their love for the community. Stop choosing outsiders that don’t care for the community and are just here for the big paycheck!
So in other words go back to the good old boy system. They will take care of only their friends and one else. Sorry, they need to hire the best, be it in town or out of town.
Well Hire a Local, go ahead and name the locals you feel are qualified. Do these individuals even have the appropriate certifications from SBEC??? Do these individuals even want the job? They should apply.
Washington County is 397,000 acres. 337,000 acres are Ag exempt.
The 2022 WCAD Comptroller Audit Report estimates land wealth at $4.6 billion
1.35% is the rate for non-agricultural properties.
1.35% of $4.6 billion is $60 million dollars a year.
Waller County’s school district pays on average $13,500 more than BISD. The result is experienced teachers leaving Brenham for Waller County.
BISD has about 400 teachers. It would it cost $6 million a year to compete with WISD.
There are 12,000 Ag exempt accounts. Some of the land is owned by local families. Much is owned by weekend additions to our community. Is the original purpose of the agricultural exemption— to assist small-scale family farms, still even relevant?
Some in our community will view this letter as heresy. I’m not proposing eliminating the Ag exemption, but can we dial it back? I’m not some wild-eyed liberal transplant from California that wants to burn down our way of life. I’m a Texan. I vote Republican. I hate taxes.
But I want better for our kids. The high school is in trouble. This year all three of our kids are enrolled at the high school. We are plugged in, and we can see the downward spiral. The junior high is a fall-out shelter and yet we continue to vote down bonds to build a new one.
Private schools are expanding their scope and enrollment. Because the people that can afford to get their kids out of BISD are leaving.
Our education system is weakening when it should be strengthening, and it is failing our kids. We have the resources to turn it around.
Add to our tax values by dialing back ag and wildlife exemptions and three things happen. First thing is that county tax rates drop because landowners start paying their fair share with homeowners and businesses. Second thing is that the state government comes in and demands even more money from our schools to transfer to poorer schools. No help there. Third thing is that all these large tracts getting bought up by outsiders suddenly get a lot more expensive just to sit on and visit on weekends. That makes it to where some of those can be parceled off and local people can afford to buy land again.
If Texas is serious about supporting farmers and wants farmers to be serious about professional farming, government can just give farmers a set amount for selling their products. Real farmers chase yield per acre and the government ought to reward that instead of the ones that just skate by doing the bare minimum on marginal land.
If Texas is serious about supporting wildlife then it’ll do the first thing I said and be done with it. It’ll take the least productive land out of farming and make it suitable for wildlife again. The way things are where you have to have an ag exemption before you can get a wildlife exemption just shows you that the lawmakers were looking out for special citizens, not wildlife and least of all the rest of us!
Government can give a set amount for selling their products? I’m sorry but Lenin is calling a special citizen back to the farming collectove
Our local State Senator took the time to address the school board and make a recommendation and they chose to do the opposite. They still voted to hire a firm.
What does that say about them? They don’t care about what others think. They have an agenda and will stick it, no matter what everyone else asks them to do.
And that’s why we are where we are today; $4 million in debt, the worst test scores in BISD history, a resigning superintendent, and record low morale with students and staff.
So just because a politician says it that makes it the gospel? She’s probably just repeating what she’s hearing from others. Smart political move.
And I’ve read her letter to the board. What does her being a state champion golfer over 30
years ago have to do with current issues facing BISD??? Absolutely nothing. I’m guessing the BISD board could care less about that stat. Being Inwardly focused on public display!!
Mr. Ehlert,
Who is the first person they’ll turn to when they need help? That exact local elected official.
This senator needs to stick to state issues because we have some doozies!
You are absolutely correct in your statements. TASB – supports transgender policies that threaten Title IX rights for girls to compete against girls in school sports and has just distributed a 13 page letter explaining that it supports ‘transgender policies’ in schools and is working in cooperation with Texas -ACLU to bring lawsuits against schools who don’t comply with Biden’s Department of Education directive for transgender bathrooms. This is in contradiction with the recently passed Texas Senate Bill 14 banning gender mutilation of children which passed with a bipartisan 98-42 majority.
TASB has also labeled parents as ‘CAVERS’ – Citizens Against Virtually Everything’ at their own training sessions displayed cartoons of parents which were later displayed at the Texas School Lawyers conference in July of this year. You can read about all of this at Texas Score Card. Search for TASB on their website and you will see all of this and more documented by eyewitnesses at their conferences.
Both Dr. Jackson and Dr. Chaplin were Top 5 TASB recommended Superintendents.
Washington County is 397,000 acres. 337,000 acres are Ag exempt.
The Washington County Appraisal District regularly appraises Ag exempt land at over $30K per acre. One example is 20 acres that is appraised at $668K. For tax purposes it is assessed at about $2K and taxes are about $30 bucks. Another example is 240 acres; appraised at $4.4 million and assessed at $12K; taxes are $300 bucks.
The 2022 WCAD Comptroller Audit Report estimates land wealth at $4.6 billion
1.35% is the rate for non-agricultural properties.
1.35% of $4.6 billion is $60 million dollars a year.
Waller County’s school district pays on average $13,500 more than BISD. The result is experienced teachers leaving Brenham for Waller County.
BISD has about 400 teachers. It would it cost $6 million a year to compete with WISD.
There are 12,000 Ag exempt accounts. Some of the land is owned by local families. Much is owned by weekend additions to our community. Is the original purpose of the agricultural exemption— to assist small-scale family farms, still even relevant?
Some in our community will view this letter as heresy. I’m not proposing eliminating the Ag exemption, but can we dial it back? I’m not some wild-eyed liberal transplant from California that wants to burn down our way of life. I’m a Texan. I vote Republican. I hate taxes.
But I want better for our kids. The high school is in trouble. This year all three of our kids are enrolled at the high school. We are plugged in, and we can see the downward spiral. The junior high is a fall-out shelter and yet we continue to vote down bonds to build a new one.
Private schools are expanding their scope and enrollment. Because the people that can afford to get their kids out of BISD are leaving.
Our education system is weakening when it should be strengthening, and it is failing our kids. We have the resources to turn it around.
Why do we keep getting outsiders to be our Superintendent when we have highly qualified individuals right here in Brenham who love our community, live our values, and have a heart for our teachers and students? We get a Superintendent who is here for a brief time, builds their resume, and moves on to greener pastures. We need somebody who can restore respect, honor and fidelity to our Central Office – somebody with our values and ethics and a passion for getting our students’ academic scores up and our teachers honored, respected and appreciated. Somebody who actually wants to invest their lives, heart and soul here.
We want the best candidate for the job to lead Brenham into the FUTURE. I know that is a scary word for many but tomorrow is the future so it is coming whether we like it or not and it will not look like yesterday! There may very well be someone from Brenham or maybe not. What some of you want and what is best for ALL the kids and employees of Brenham ISD may not be the same thing. We have a diverse board with several who have SERVED kids in aspects of education. I trust they will have some hard discussions on the direction of BISD but keeping in mind the employees and kids of BISD not just the talking points of what the vocal groups want to hear. We have some awesome kids, teachers, and employees here and I challenge everyone to get out from behind their keyboards and get to know them. After school programs, youth sports, tutoring, and numerous reading programs are all in constant need of volunteers. We are called to be relational which takes time and effort that many times comes at a cost of our comfort. The easiest thing to do is point out problems while being part of the solution requires so much more of us. We want what is best for the kids of BISD not someone who checks the boxes of anyone’s agenda or we have failed them!
I agree with all you have said but the problem is that this Board has supported the current Top TASB approved Superintendent by approved every request he has made for capital expenditures including the multi-million dollar police department without directing him to consult with local officials like the City Council, the County Judge and Commissioners and instead paid for an outside consultant from the Dallas area who gave the Board incorrect information about dispatching through the local Police Department who were equally insulted by the whole process.
Hiring outsiders who obviously have little or no respect for the officials or citizens of our community will only continue to negatively impact our whole community.
I agree completely
Bonnie Brinkmeyer, please throw your hat into the search for a new superintendent! Brenham ISD needs someone with some common sense that values the children’s education and the teachers.
I completely agree, Mrs. Brinkmeyer has the knowledge and depth to be an excellent choice for superintendent. She was an excellent principal, loved by teachers and students. The board will be negligent if they do not look at this amazing person we have here already, she would be a strong leader for our district (and we don’t have to pay an expensive search firm to go find her).
You are absolutely correct in your statements. TASB – supports transgender policies that threaten Title IX rights for girls to compete against girls in school sports and has just distributed a 13 page letter explaining that it supports ‘transgender policies’ in schools and is working in cooperation with Texas -ACLU to bring lawsuits against schools who don’t comply with Biden’s Department of Education directive for transgender bathrooms. This is in contradiction with the recently passed Texas Senate Bill 14 banning gender mutilation of children which passed with a bipartisan 98-42 majority.
TASB has also labeled parents as ‘CAVERS’ – Citizens Against Virtually Everything’ at their own training sessions displayed cartoons of parents which were later displayed at the Texas School Lawyers conference in July of this year. You can read about all of this at Texas Score Card. Search for TASB on their website and you will see all of this and more documented by eyewitnesses at their conferences.
Both Dr. Jackson and Dr. Chaplin were Top 5 TASB recommended Superintendents.
If Mrs. Brinkmeyer truly cares for teachers and students she should stop voting for TASB and could have asked the Board to consider her for the next Superintendent saving the district at least $7,000.00 during a budget deficit crisis.
Any qualified candidate is allowed to submit their name for consideration for BISD superintendent. To be considered is equal opportunity and is not a guarantee that he or she will be hired. The selection process should be “fair and impartial” as all candidates are not inherently equal with regard to qualification and experience. The reason that school districts prefer to hire “outsiders” is so that the superintendent does not have the appearance of being a pawn in the hands of those who chose him or her. An outsider has no dog in the fight, no ties to the community that would impact decision making and can remain “fair and impartial”. THIS IS THE PREFERRED STANDARD. The school board would be wise to continue to follow this pattern. The concern should be choosing the candidate who has a demonstrated record of delivering quality education for the students instead of perks for a segment of the community.
We can clearly see who has the common sense on the school board. They are getting out voted by the same people who got BISD into this mess. Voters, be sure to use your voices as spots come up for re-election. Doing the same thing over and over again with no change is in fact, insanity.
Something has to give. Yes, teachers aren’t in it to get rich, but they too need to be able to support their families. Not every BISD employee has a two income home. If traveling a short distance for higher pay can help them support their family, you bet they will go to a higher paying district. It actually happens more often than most people think.
Your statement is inaccurate. If you listened Kyle & Archer wanted Crass who was the highest. Their “initial” fee was $6,500 plus additional cost for travel, and pass through fees which she estimated for the board to be roughly $1,500.
Why does brenham have to pay anyone to hire a superintendent? Why can’t they do it themselves? Ridiculous! Obviously whoever they are paying isn’t working because brenham cannot keep a superintendent! Teacher raises should be more important than paying administration more money.
Because most of the school board members have full-time jobs and a family. Let’s say 50 people apply for the position – that would be 50 resumes that every member would have to review and either keep for the next round or toss out. Plus not to mention all the research that has to be done on qualified candidates. MOST of the school board members are in this for the children of our community, but they also have a family of their own. The time they are going to have to put in for this search already is a lot. Plus, why not get someone in to help with this process who has the time and experience?
Thank you, Mr. Archer and Mr. Hafner, for standing up for fiscal discipline and common sense.
So they wait until teachers have started the new year before announcing they won’t get a raise. Let’s be honest, with record inflation, no raise is actually a pay decrease. Brenham is already among the lowest paid large districts in the area and now you are telling these teachers they are worth even less…thanks to the overpaid administration’s mismanagement. The majority of districts in the state found a way to give their teachers raises without incurring record deficits. I’m sure glad I got out of BISD before it got to this point.
A few facts about previous BISD Superintendents. Walter Jackson’s tenure as BISD Superintendent began in April 2015. He left Brenham ISD in June 2020 to become Superintendent at LaPorte ISD. LaPorte ISD has approximately 7000 students, 2000 more than Brenham ISD. Jackson DID NOT APPLY for the job at LaPorte. He was RECRUITED by a “headhunter”. At LaPorte ISD, his starting salary was $100,000 per year MORE than he was earning in Brenham. What rational, intelligent individual with 2 children looking to go to college would not make the same decision??
If the current board makes a great hire for the next Superintendent and that person is successful here in Brenham the process will repeat itself. Just like it does with college football coaches. It is the nature of the beast.
I have posted this before – the average tenure of a Superintendent in Texas is 3 1/2 years.
Pathetic group of typical government supporters…no way we need to crawl in bed with TASB…they are the source of much degradation in education. Can’t believe 3 of the five went with this plan. Hats of to Mr Hafner and Mr Archer…and thanks Senator Kolkhorst
It’s called Brenham “Independent “ school district for a reason. We are to be independent of the influences of state and national organizations and do what’s best for our independent community and Children. Now that the stupid decision has been made to hire an agency that has far a reaching agenda, those who voted for this better join the two who voted against it and make darn sure you are independent thinking and don’t go with what this organization will try to ram down by our throats.
Thank you Mr.Ehlert for passing on your experience and knowledge in this matter. We, as lay persons are not always aware of all the facts. We miss you on our school board.
It is weird that Burton can give a raise and $1000 but Brenham can’t do either
And Brenham is still $6,000 higher pay for a starting teacher…no one wants to talk about this superintendent and the prior board have given a total of 9% raises to educators in the last 3 years.
Well said.
Weird no one notes that this Superintendent and previous board gave a total of 9% increases in the past three years. Brenham ISD starting salary for a first year teacher is still $6,000 more than Burton.
Yes, let us all enthusiastically slap each other on the back for giving teachers -9% inflation-adjusted raises between 2020 and 2023. We are so awesome. Everything is great.
Seriously though, this is a very widespread problem and I know that there’s not much that BISD can do about it. The buck starts and stops with our state legislators. Texas can’t seem to do anything at all about long-term financing for its schools without undercutting rural districts.
So after voting on a budget with a 4.5 million dollar deficit, they decide to go with the most expensive option for a search firm? Makes no sense! Oh, and it was because of their history with BISD? They gave us Walter Jackson…not exactly a high bar! Thank you Hafner and Archer for looking out for the taxpayer and our teachers!
You need to listen to the meeting again. Those two board members wanted the highest-cost firm to be the one.
You need to listen to the meeting again. That presenter included the cost of writing the contracts. TASB did not and is notorious for expensive legal fees. The overall cost for TASB is much higher than either of the other 2 in that they included contract fees.
Dr.Jackson was great superintendent! Doctor of education you don’t any higher than that! And unfortunately for the children that talent will never come to brenham again!
If you see noted in this article which can also be verified on the recording of the school board meeting that the option Hafner and Archer supported was the most expensive option. Both trustees noted they were surprised to be supportive of the most expensive option, but noted on why they supported Crass. That was a $6,500 but additional costs for travel, postage, and a few other items. The board asked if she could give an estimate of the additional cost total and she estimated $1,500 give or take making the total estimate for that option $8,000 making it the most expensive option.
Dr. Walter Jackson’s time as BISD superintendent was very successful. Some would say it was AWESOME! Dr. Walter Jackson is an inspiring leader who transformed this district in many ways. The community was impressed and was very supportive of Dr. Walter Jackson until some “karens” got nosey and noisome with nonsensical nonsense! Let’s hope the next superintendent is not a male “karen” and has a successful track record of substantive change in the education of students. I have Dr. Walter Jackson on speed dial. He’s doing well in LaPorte, thank you very much!
Yes, he was good, but he was/is also on his journey to keep getting more experience, more money, more under his belt, as All of the Administration in schools generally do. I am sure there is a qualified candidate that already lives and works in the school district, or a neighboring district, that would fill the position tomorrow.
It is the same for the City Managers. Local people can do just as good of a job, if not better, than an out of town, specifically recruited, individual.
The locals might be more willing to stick with it longer, than the career building types, in my opinion.
There was a mass exodus of some of our best and most experienced teachers on Dr. Jackson’s watch, including myself. He knew how to work a crowd and say the right things, but the reality is he did nothing to keep the best in our profession around. I was very hopeful about him when he came, but it soon became apparent that all of his energies went into promoting himself and the school board. They did a great job of patting each other on the back while those of us on the front lines were busting our tails and getting peanuts in return.
David Yeager was the last truly great leader in the district. He inspired and cared for all his employees. He managed successful schools and programs, and was able to do it in a fiscally responsible way.
Did anything change under the current BISD superintendent? Teachers are still leaving BISD for other school districts. Unfortunately this a recurring problem with many resume driven school administrators. And by the way, we all know that the superintendent is only a public figure head for the school board which in turn represents the “hidden elite” of any district. The superintendent may be the public face of the school district but he or she works in the interest of the school board. Sum it up to politics as usual … even in school districts. If you want real change then vote out current board members for those qualified to lead a school district. Former school teachers would be my first choice! For what it is worth, I am sorry you felt a need to leave the district. Everyone loses whenever this happens in a school district.
Could not agree with you more. David Yeager was a local Brenhamite who loved this community and did more for the students and teachers during his tenure as Superintendent. We need to recruit him to be at least an interim Superintendent until we find another local candidate who will show the same love and concern for teachers, students and parents!!
David Yeager is not a Brenham native. He went to school in Houston ISD and graduated from Furr High School
You obviously didn’t really know Dr. Jackson! He was a great Superintendent and Christian Man! If you are so willing to make that kind of statement, you should be willing to list your real name. If people were required to list their names, this forum would be more respectful.