BRENHAM SCHOOL BOARD VOTES 5-2 TO RETAIN TASB
The Brenham School Board opted on Monday to remain a member of the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) following a split vote and discussion that occasionally turned heated.
The 5-2 vote to stay with TASB and not join the alternative group, Texans for Excellence in Education (TEE), matches that of when this same item appeared before trustees last September. Trustees Kyle Hafner and Archer Archer were in support of joining TEE.
Four members of the public spoke at the beginning of the meeting, all in favor of dropping TASB and choosing a different group such as TEE.
Superintendent Clay Gillentine told trustees before dedicated discussion on the topic began that this item concerns whether the school board would continue to receive legal policy updates through TASB or switch to another provider. He said he is open to competition if the district is able to get good services for a fair price.
Trustee Kyle Hafner said the number one question he gets from the public is when will the district leave TASB. He does not support TASB’s stance promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), as he believes it works to separate rather than bring together. He also feels the organization has not done its job of advocating for the public school system, leading to the present situation of school districts struggling to make ends meet.
Trustee Archer Archer said he cannot support an organization whose values do not reflect those of the Brenham community, but also because of the district’s current budgetary considerations. According to Archer, the district has spent $21,679 over the past two years for its TASB membership, but the cost for TEE over two years would be $5,500, with the first year free.
Board Secretary Kelvin Raven said he wanted to go into this with an open mind, but he never got word back from TEE after attempting to call and email them. He said he has only heard of two school districts who have joined TEE and did not feel comfortable with “rolling the dice” with them, adding, “Everything free is not good for you.”
Hafner said he has been able to get in touch with TEE and actually requested that the group come back to give a follow-up presentation to the board. However, he stated that the representative he spoke with did not want to send anyone down, claiming that people from the community had made “threatening phone calls” to them. When Raven asked to confirm that the calls came from Brenham, Hafner answered yes.
Board Vice President Jared Krenek and Trustee Tommie Sullivan both said they have not received the comments that Hafner has in support of dropping TASB, with Sullivan mentioning that he has been very pleased with TASB. Krenek said TEE is not established enough to show what they can offer, and that they were not able to do so despite having a full year since the board’s original discussion. Trustee Bonnie Brinkmeyer said TASB has been there for Brenham ISD and feels they are in it to help all school districts. She also said that while TEE may be a great option down the road, right now they are not ready.
Sullivan expressed disappointment about how this issue has divided the members of the board.
Board President Natalie Lange agreed with Sullivan, saying the board agrees on many more matters than it disagrees with, but this has taken the focus over the most important thing, which she said was the “defunding of public education.” She said the terms Diversity, Equity and Inclusion do not mean the same politically as they do in education, and without them, a good education is not possible.
The board first took a vote on a membership with TEE. The motion was made by Hafner and seconded by Archer, but the two were the only trustees who voted in favor, so the motion failed.
The board then acted on renewing its TASB membership. Raven made the motion and was seconded by Krenek, and the item passed 5-2 with Hafner and Archer voting no.
In reviewing the recording of the meeting, it appears both Mr. Hafner and Mr. Archer are woefully unfamiliar with many functions of the board and how education works. These national media extremist talking points have poisoned the well of thousands of communities across America. I am not sure why they seem so insistent on doing the same here. The point they and many commenters here are not grasping is that TASB itself may have some priorities not aligned with local values, but in no way do they require member schools to support a specific agenda. Those decisions ultimately fall to the board and ergo the community. BISD’s membership with TASB provides invaluable resources that TEE is not capable of providing. I would encourage both trustees as well as many in the community to gain a better understanding of how education and education policy actually works before getting in such a fluster that you sound embarrassingly out of touch to those that know better.
How’s this for “homework?” Earlier this year, at the TASB Summer Leadership Institute, a presenter urged school boards to “use teacher raises as a ‘weapon’—because they’ll need teachers angry enough to apply political pressure in the upcoming Texas legislative session” (Sources: Texas Public Policy Foundation and Texas Scorecard). Do a little research and you’ll see that this presenter is CEO of an educational firm that this district has contracted with in the last 4 years (source: KWHI). FURTHERMORE, with all the cut teaching positions, why was another central office instructional position created? It certainly wasn’t announced publicly.
And DEI is DEI is DEI. Education has allowed the consultant and faux intellectuals within it to complicate and contort it with Marxist-light philosophies. Education IS political as long as schools are dependent upon elected officials and bureaucrats to hand them money, because some of that money, like federal money, has DEI strings attached.
A little more “homework” from your source: Texas Public Policy Foundation and Texas Scorecard.
“Organizations besides TASB often present at our events and all registrants are notified that the views expressed in presentations and materials offered by non-TASB staff are the views of the presenters only and do not necessarily reflect the views of TASB, its members, officers, directors, or staff,” she said.
She added that Gilcrease’s strategy of denying raises to teachers in order to apply political pressure “does not represent a TASB position, nor one that we agree with or support. As a nonpartisan member organization, TASB takes no position on how people should vote.”
https://www.texaspolicy.com/texas-school-board-members-told-utilize-compensation-as-a-weapon/
TASB has publicly stated that boys should be allowed in girl’s locker rooms and bathrooms if that is how they identify. They believe boys should be allowed to compete in girl’s sports. They have stated that boy’s can stay in girl’s hotel rooms overnight if they claim to identify as girls. Their values do not reflect the values of the majority of Brenham families or even Texas for that matter.
You can continue to stick with TASB because “it’s what we’ve always done”. But if you examine the results, Brenham ISD has continued to slip, year after year. They can’t put together a reasonable bond package for a new middle school. They have record deficits and have blown through the rainy day fund. The schools continue to fall in the yearly ratings from where they used to be. Something needs to change. If TASB is their advisor, they are getting bad advice. If the school board wants to continue down the path it’s on, the voters need to enact some change.
Lower cost does not equate to equal or better service delivery. I am glad that the school board moved forward. It seems that this was a topic last year; hopefully it won’t raise its head again. It would appear that two board members need to do their homework.
Vote them out…when you keep doing the same thing you get the same results. TASB is all about creating more and more programs that do nothing to enhance education for our schools. Their stance on Trans issues places the wishes of a very small group above the larger group. As has been the situation for a long time Mr Hafner and Mr Archer stand for what’s good for our kids…not what’s good for Woke.
The definition of insanity is doing something over and over the exact same way and expecting a different outcome. Its not working so good. Lets give applause to Hafner and Archer for at least having the integrity to try something different and at the worst save some money for the same service. Hafner and Archer the trusted trustees.