BRENHAM SCHOOL BOARD VOTES 5-2 TO STAY WITH TASB
The Brenham School Board opted to remain with the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) after a 5-2 vote on Monday.
Trustees listened to a presentation from a TASB representative and then debated amongst themselves before choosing to not join the TASB-alternative group, Texans for Excellence in Education (TEE), and keep their current membership with TASB. Trustees Kyle Hafner and Archer Archer voted in favor of joining TEE.
The vote came after a lengthy public comment period in which 15 people spoke, a large majority of them presenting the same requests: drop TASB, hire TEE and bring in a local superintendent.
TASB Executive Director Dan Troxell discussed the organization’s representation process and how each region across the state has board members who represent their area’s schools and carry equal weight during the annual membership meeting/delegate assembly. He also mentioned that over 80 percent of TASB school districts have an average daily attendance that matches or is less than Brenham ISD.
Membership for TASB runs around $10,000, with services such as risk management, policy services and legal services. Add-ons include BoardBook, the software that deals with board meeting preparation and organization, and the BuyBoard purchasing cooperative.
After Troxell’s presentation, the board compared TASB with TEE, who reported to the board last month. Hafner reminded the board that Carroll ISD in Southlake voted earlier this year to not renew its membership with TASB and – citing info given by TEE last month – is one of four school districts that plan to join the new organization.
Both Hafner and Archer were in favor of selecting TEE, pointing to their cheaper services and stating that there is no reason to not give them a try since Brenham ISD’s first year under the new program would be free. Archer felt the board did not have “anything to lose entertaining TEE.”
Hafner conceded that this matter is personal for him in that he does not like TASB, and that he feels the organization does not “have our best interests in mind.”
However, other trustees were concerned about TEE’s lack of a track record. Board President Natalie Lange said it would not be prudent to go with an unproven entity. Trustee Tommie Sullivan said he did not have enough information to feel safe about doing this, while Trustee Jared Krenek said TEE’s website does not give much in the way of information, adding, “There’s nothing for us to say, ‘let’s try it,’ because there’s nothing there.” Trustee Kelvin Raven said one of these groups is established and the other one is not, and that going with TEE versus TASB would be like going to court for a criminal case and picking an attorney who has never had any clients.
Also on Monday, the board:
- Received an update on recently released STAAR/EOC results.
- Approved an update to the district’s library policies and procedures manual. Brenham ISD Lead Librarian Charlotte Polk said the additions made were for transparency but were otherwise minor. Polk then gave an update about the district’s library operations and what it does to ensure its catalog of books are age-appropriate.
TASB or TEE? KUDOS to the BISD School Board for actually voting to keep the education of children the priority. Public Schools in Texas are by law, non-partisan independent political entities.
The wolves no longer wear sheep clothing!
The school board does not want to listen to taxpayers & some of them just want it their way only….They are not concerned about our children’s education and teachers.. Why arewe still paying tax dollars to the current Superintendent ??? Get rid of him now and save some tax dollars.
If you keep doing the same things you’ll get the same results. We need to be independent of these failed organizations. Staying with an organization the has failed miserably over the last decades is, pardon my bluntness, just plain stupid!! The TASB and TEA have done nothing to move education in the right direction. How do I know??? Because 50% of kids in Texas graduate or drop out of school with nothing to prepare them to be anything close to an asset to society. They have dumbed down our programs, they have ruined any discipline mechanisms, they have declared no God in Schools while evil is just fine…the list goes on. Hats off to Hafner and Archer…shame on the rest of you…your part of society’s problem.
I have a son that just graduated from BHS. I assure you that well over 50% of the graduating class are off doing things to make us proud. College, military, additions to the work force. Your negative opinion is both sad and irrelevant. Oh! And there is plenty of God in our schools, you must not be looking very hard.
“Hats off to Hafner and Archer…shame on the rest of you…your part of society’s problem.” Please describe in detail what you mean by “your part of society’s problem”.
This is a hateful statement and a person attack on the other school board members. Comments like this should not be permitted.
Kudos to Kyle an Archer. The rest need to go. Stop voting for the ones that know the system is dumbed down and continue to keep it that way. Try something new. Thought Bonnie would make a difference. Oh well, BIB wins again.
If you have a pilot that can’t steer the ship you replace him. We have an ineffective BISD and they have steered us in the wrong direction in all aspects. We are in the red and we still keep spending money we don’t have and refuse to make cuts sound like whats really going on is mismanagement. May I suggest this cut everything you can even your own wages till you get the budget back in the black. I mean thats what we retired people have to do you have x amount of dollars to last the month and when it runs out its out no more spending. You were elected not selected to manage the affairs of the school which includes the spending did some of you not take economics. Thank you Hafner and Acher the rest of you need to resign or cut your wages.
Hello, I read your article regarding the BISD school board meeting on 9/18 and I find it interesting that you did not report that under the current leadership of this Board we are now $5.8 million in debt. President Lange stated that the Board is to receive a monthly report from now and moving forward regarding the deficit. My question is why has that not been going on in the past and how did the board go from having a surplus of almost $12 million at one point to now being at almost $6 million deficit. The public needs to made award of the poor leadership and reckless spending that is going on at the taxpayer’s expense.
Excellent choice school board members, you have made the right choice for our schools. The administrators, faculty and students will be far better off with your decision.
Please keep the supporters of public education informed of how you are dealing with the looming budget deficit. Far too many rural school districts in Texas are nearing bankruptcy.