Preparing for the New Year

I welcome you all back from the Thanksgiving Holidays. I hope and trust that you were able to enjoy friends and loved ones during the break, and I know that you enjoyed the few days of rest that you received. Now we prepare for the mad dash to Christmas. Everyone is busy gathering those special gifts for their loved ones, and we often allow ourselves to become stressed during this time of year. Let's keep things in perspective and remember just how blessed each of us is in this country.

Teachers and students will be busy during the next few weeks. We have a lot of instruction to do because we know that we will not have a lot of time after the holidays to prepare for the new testing that will be taking place this spring. I know that everyone is busy during this time of year, but it is very important to keep your child's education in the forefront. Please contact your child's teacher if you have any questions or concerns. We are here to work together to insure the success of every child.

Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for in this country. I have heard that if you own a two room house and a vehicle that runs then you are among the top 80% of the world's wealth. That is just amazing to me. What are the things that we take for granted? Do we ever stop to reflect on how much we have been blessed?

This month we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. This is a wonderful time for us to step back and consider all things for which we should be thankful. I hope that you will take this time and remember to give thanks for all of the blessings we have in this life. Spend time with your families and loved ones during this holiday season and don't lose a moment of happiness.

I am thankful for the community of Harleton and the opportunity to work with a great staff and students. I am thankful for our schools and will continue to do all that is in my power to continually improve. Thank you for letting us be a part of your child's life.

Creating a New Vision for Public Education

What do you want for your child? If you are like me and many others, then you want your child to have every opportunity for success possible. That's what all of us want for our children or grandchildren. So, how do we ensure this happens? That is the question that a group of superintendents throughout the state have asked themselves and are attempting to answer. I am working with a group of superintendents in Education Service Center Region 7 to determine what and how we will have to better utilize public education to prepare students for the future, and we are finding that the current system utilized for public education will have to fundamentally change in order to meet the needs of today's students.

The current public education system has remained essentially unchanged since its beginnings in the late 1800s and the turn of the 20th century. The system was created to prepare a very few students to enter the colleges or universities while preparing a majority of students to enter the factory workplace. At this time only about 3% of students actually finished school and graduated. Today over 80% do so with millions more students in our schools than ever, and that's not counting those students that receive their High School diplomas after 4 years or receive GEDs. During the first World War the army had to conduct two different test to new recruits. One for those that could read, and one for those that were functionally illiterate. Today that is not the case. Most students are completely able to read by the end of the 3rd grade. That is a vast improvement, but it's not good enough. The expectations have changed...and rightly so. Today we want all of our students to graduate from High School with the skills and knowledge base to allow them to be successful in their endeavors, whatever they may be; however, we have never fundamentally changed the system of schooling that was put into place over a century ago (Schlecty, 2011).

How many of you have heard the saying "It's just not like the good ole' days?" How many of you have made that statement yourselves? Can you truthfully say that the education system was better for all students in "the good ole' days?" During the 1950s we did not even attempt to educate all children and had a dropout rate of over 50%. Now, I know that some things were better, and we had more support from families and more support for certain discipline strategies. But, honestly, how many of us can say that our 2nd grade children don't know more than we did at that age? Have you seen their homework lately? Students of today are required to learn more than ever in the history of our country, and most of them do it very well.

Technology and research conducted over many years allow us to have a better understanding of the workings of the brain and get a glimpse of how the brain learns. We need to utilize this knowledge to help our students become even more successful. Did you know that the top 10 jobs today were not even in existence in 2004? It's hard to prepare someone for a job that does not exist; therefore, we must prepare our students with the skills they will need to be creative thinkers and problem-solvers who are able to succeed no matter the job they pursue after graduation.

I will be sharing information about the journey as we work to redefine our system of schooling, and I ask that you share your thoughts and feelings with me, as well. We will have to question some of our deeply held beliefs, but I believe a healthy discussion about these topics will be beneficial for us all. After all, we shouldn't be focusing on our education but that of our children. They will be the ones who need the knowledge to carry on after we're gone.

Texas Honor Circle Award

Harleton ISD receives the Texas Honors Circle Awards for Public Education Excellence

Harleton ISD is a recipient of the Texas Comptroller’s 2011 Texas Honors Circle Award, which recognizes schools and districts that are achieving academic success through cost-effective operations. Award recipients achieve strong academic performance while spending relatively little compared to their peers. 

Texas Comptroller Susan Combs has announced that 46 Texas school districts and 313 school campuses received the Texas Honors Circle Award for high rankings received in the 2011 Financial Allocation Study for Texas (FAST).

FAST, mandated by the 2009 Texas Legislature, is an annual study that examines both academic performance and financial efficiency to identify school districts, charter operators and campuses that deliver high-quality education at relatively low costs. Combs created the Texas Honors Circle Award program to recognize districts and schools that receive high marks in the FAST analysis.

 “In these challenging times where schools are under pressure to do more with less, it is more important than ever to shine a spotlight on those that are achieving strong student performance with cost-effective spending,” Combs said. “Your efforts to help our state and local governments wisely manage educational spending while preparing students for success in college or the work force is crucial to the future of Texas.”   

The Texas Honors Circle program awards certificates based on FAST results. Districts and charters receiving the Texas Honors Circle Award have achieved a Five-Star FAST rating. Only 46, or 4 percent of all Texas school districts, earned five stars. Elementary campuses receiving the award achieved a five-star FAST rating, while middle and high-school campuses tapped for the honor achieved at least a 4.5-Star FAST rating.

To view FAST’s results and to see the list of all Texas Honors Circle award winners, go to www.FASTexas.org.

Bravo School Board!

On September 13, 2011, the Harleton ISD Board of Trustees took a big step to fight for the students and taxpayers of the district by joining in support of the lawsuit concerning the school finance system in Texas. School finance has recently made big news in Texas when the 82nd legislature cut approximately $5.5 billion from the funds that would have gone to school district in Texas. These cuts come at a time when the state was also requiring more from schools and higher standards for the students. 

The current system for financing public schools in Texas contains revenue for schools in the form of a number the state has entitled “Target Revenue Number.” The number, derived from analysis based upon a district’s condition in the 2005-2006 school year, is multiplied by the school district’s number of Weighted Average Daily Attendance (WADA), basically the number of students in attendance at the district that have been weighted based upon special needs and costs to educate students with these special needs, to give you the district’s revenues to fund schooling for the year. The calculation looks like this: Target Revenue Number X WADA=Target Revenue. The amount of revenue the district can generate locally is then supplemented by the state up to the Target Revenue amount. If the district raises more money locally due to an increase in the appraised value of property in the district, then the state does not have to pay as much to the district in order for them to reach their Target Revenue. Also, keep in mind that this number is based upon 2005-2006 information, and we all know that nothing has increased in price since then, right?

Let’s look at an example using Harleton’s Target Revenue Number, $4952. In order to determine the Target Revenue for Harleton ISD, we take this number and multiply by the number of WADA, which is approximately 1000. $4952 X 1000= $4,952,000. This is Harleton’s Target Revenue. Basically, this, along with some other small adjustments, provides the funding that our district uses to carry out schooling for our children. The only catch is that the Target Revenue Numbers vary in our state by a wide margin. Districts have numbers as low as $3800 and as high as over $12,000. The average in the state is close to $5100. Even if Harleton were able to get the state average ($5100) then our revenue would increase by $148,000. That would be equivalent to 3 teachers with over 20 years experience each. Could that be a benefit for our children? 

Our school district is located in Harrison County, and the Target Revenue Numbers of the school districts in our county also vary from $4952 to $6046. The breakdown of these districts is as follows: 

Harleton ISD       $4952 

Marshall ISD       $5064 

Waskom ISD       $5414 

Elysian Fields      $5628 

Karnack ISD       $5727 

Hallsville ISD      $6046 

You can see that some districts are going to be guaranteed more revenues than others just based upon the Target Revenue Numbers, and if they increase their enrollments does the system allow for Harleton to catch up? No. If all of these districts increased by the same number of WADA, they would just multiply by the already inequitable Target Revenue Numbers that are in place now. But, that’s not the worst news. 

As a taxpayer, you should definitely be upset. Not only can you see that if Target Revenue Numbers are ranging from $3800 to over $12,000, but studies have shown that taxpayers are being treated unfairly, as well. Among the 80% of districts in the state with the lowest revenues per student, they have an average tax rate for maintenance and operations of $1.068. The wealthiest 10% of districts have an average tax rate for maintenance and operations of $1.00. Or, look at it this way when you talk about yield per penny of tax for every student. If we look at the poorest 20% of schools (n=256), we see an average yield per penny of $48.97 per student while having an average M&O tax rate of $1.13. We can compare these numbers to the wealthiest 20% of districts (n=256) and find an average yield per penny of $68.31 with an M&O tax rate of just under $1.02. So, not only do these districts get more for their students, but they get to do so without their tax payers having to pay as much. The differences are even more pronounced when we compare the poorest 10% with the wealthiest 10%. Don’t the students of our district deserve as much as others? Should our taxpayers have to pay more in taxes just to maintain services and facilities while other districts are able to provide more at a lower tax rate?

Wildfires

I've just heard that Harmony ISD has had to let out classes today due to a wildfire near their school. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are being affected by this, and we pray that no one is injured from the fires. There is a possibility that the games will have to be played at our field if they are able to play at all. We will keep everyone updated through the website.

Thankfully, the weather service is predicting a chance of rain for tomorrow. Let's pray that it comes our way.

...and away we go!

Well, we have completed our first full week of school, and we are off and running. We are all looking forward to a great 2011-2012. The Wildcats pulled out a victory last Friday, and we are prepared for a  great season of football. I hope that you will all come out and support our Wildcats when you have the opportunity. I always find it great to watch our boys and girls mature into young men and women over the years, and I am proud of the support that the Harleton community gives to our students.

We thank you for allowing us to be a part of your child's life. We realize that it takes all of us working together to ensure that our children are successful.

What's Going On?

As you can tell there have been a lot of changes taking place at Harleton ISD over the summer months. We are very proud of these projects and hope that you will take pride in them as well. Our students deserve the very best, and we are working hard to give them the very best. I want to thank each of you for your support and encouragement for the district and our students. It takes all of us working together to make all of our students successful.

Please visit our new website. It is currently under construction so we may not have everything in place at the moment, but we will soon have everything up and running. I think this will be a great asset for our parents, students, staff, and community members.

Also, please take a moment to read an article that I wrote concerning school finance and what it means for Harleton ISD. I have tried to give you some information about the cuts that were imposed by the 82nd Legislature in the form of a Frequently Asked Questions document. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns.

We are looking forward to a great year!

Schools About to Begin!

I can feel the anticipation in the air, parents are singing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," and teachers and school employees are frantic. It must be about time for school to begin.

It's not long now. The first day for students will be August 22. We are looking forward to a new school year and all of the activities and fun that comes with starting a new year. I hope you will take a few moments to visit our school and become an active participant in our school events. It takes all of us working together to ensure that our children reach their fullest potentials.

Graduation May 27

We are quickly approaching another landmark in the lives of some of our students. Graduation services will be held on May 27 at 7:30 pm at the Harleton High School Football Stadium. This is a great time for our students and parents which represents the first in what is, hopefully, a long line of accomplishments and achievements in the lives of these young men and women. We hope that each of these young adults will be able to look back upon their time at Harleton with fond memories and an appreciation for the hard work and dedication that it took to reach this milestone. We are extremely proud of each of them and wish them continued success in the future.

Auxiliary Personnel Appreciation Week May 9-13

We are extremely proud of our auxiliary personnel.  We would not have a chance to be successful without the help of these dedicated men and women. Our schools rely on these individuals to feed our children, transport them to school, clean our facilities, and maintain our buildings. Without their help we would not be able to function, and we thank them for all all that they do! Please join me as we salute our Auxiliary Personnel.

Teacher Appreciation Week May 2-6

With all of the negative press about public schools that has been floating around lately, we are often forgetful that our founding fathers believed that public education is one of the premises that our nation should be built upon. It is still true today that the greatest equalizer is education. Therefore, I am proud to serve the wonderful teachers of Harleton ISD. These men and women deserve our respect everyday, but I am extremely grateful that we have set aside this time in our state to fully recognize the invaluable work that they do with the children of our state. Thank you teachers! You are appreciated!

What's Your Priority?

What are our priorities as a state? I don't know about you, but it seems that our legislators are sending mixed messages. Do we want to cut spending, or do we want to have a truly educated workforce? Do we want to be a low tax state at all costs, or do we want to use a level-headed approach to the budgeting process? You can't increase the standards (which is what is happening with the STAAR testing taking the place of TAKS) while cutting funding for school districts at the same time.

We've heard a lot lately about the increase in expenditures by school districts over the past two decades. Unfortunately, we don't get the whole picture when listening to the talk that is coming out of Austin. One of the things that we keep hearing is that schools are taking money out of the classroom by having staffing at a level of one-to-one teacher/non-teacher. The claim is that this number has increased over the last couple of decades; however, the research shows a different story (see chart below, taken from Ed Fuller's Blog on education). The fact is that the number of teachers has remained relatively stable while administration has actually decreased over this time. The difference comes in the instructional aides who have been added to help with the types of students that have been entering our schools. Many of these students are limited English proficient, and they require more help to bring to them up to the level of their peers. This takes staff and ultimately...money.

So, what are our priorities? Educating our children will lead to a better educated citizenry. This leads to a more productive workforce and more tax revenues. I believe that we will reap the benefits in the long run for our investment today. Or, we can shortchange the education system and pay for it later. What do you propose?

Getting Ready for the End

We have entered the last six weeks of the school year. My time has flown! Soon it will be time for graduation and then the summer. But, between now and then there are many activities that will be taking place.

The 8th grade awards banquet will be held on May 5. This is a great opportunity for our 8th grade students as they prepare to enter High School.

The Athletic Banquet is scheduled for 6pm on May 19. We have had a good year in our athletic activities, and this is an opportunity to honor the young men and women who have competed in those competitions.

Many other activities will be taking place during the last weeks of school. I hope you will be able to join us and participate. We are very thankful that you allow us to be a part of your children's lives.

Is There Hope?

Recent comments made by legislators seem to be suggesting that the climate in Austin is becoming a little more conducive to adding monies to public education. Hopefully, they are beginning to see the damages that could result if we don't properly fund our state's children. If you have been in contact with your representative, I thank you and ask you to continue. If you have not, please remember to do so. Let them know what you would like to see happen during this legislative session.

What Does the Future Hold?

What does the future of education hold for our nation, state, and local communities? We all know that students today are much different from those who entered our schools 20, 40, or 60 years ago. I would even say that students of today are different from those who entered our schools at the beginning of the century.

At a recent training I heard a report on research that was conducted by scientists of learning and the brain that claimed that the brains of children today are different from those of older generations. The children of today are multi-taskers that are able to handle many different forms of information at once. For example, how many times have you seen your kids watching tv, listening to their ipods, answering text messages, and checking emails all while working on their homework? Although this seems impossible to us (the older generation), this is the world that our children were born into, and they can handle it much better than we can. In fact, researchers claim that they need this type of stimulation in order for their brains to work properly. These types of data have profound influence on the future of education for our children and will lead to changes in the way school is ultimately "done."

This same presenter claimed that the amount of technology in the world doubles every 12 months while the price of that technology decreases by one half, and that the top 10 jobs in 2010 did not even exist in 2004. What does this mean for our kindergarten class that will graduate in 2023? What will their world look like and how will we educate them for that future? What are your thoughts? I would like to hear from you.

The Blame Game

In a press conference on Wednesday, March 23, six senators held a press conference in Austin to state their priorities in providing education funding for public school districts in Texas. Basically, these senators stated that their priority was to the classroom citing erroneous statistics that the number of administrators to teachers had increased from 5:1 in the 1970s to 1:1 presently. It seems ironic that the government didn't even keep these numbers during the 1970s so I find it hard to believe that they are being exactly truthful by making such statements. In fact, these figures were not available until the state starting keeping up with them in the mid 1980s.

The group further stated that their priority was to the classroom and that all of the blame for the cuts in teaching staffs was to be laid at the feet of the school districts. They would cut non-teaching staff. But, they failed to mention that in most districts, like Harleton ISD, the only non-teaching staff members are the custodians, maintenance workers, bus drivers, and food service providers. If those positions are cut, are we going to ask the teachers to do this? Will that help the teacher in the classroom? I don't think so!

I have mentioned in past postings to this blog that the legislators were made aware that this budget shortfall was coming in 2006. They did nothing to prevent it, and they are now trying to lay the blame on school districts. We try to teach our children to take responsibility for their actions. Our legislators seem to need a crash course in this concept.

Share the Pain?

During a recent Senate Public Education Subcommittee hearing one of the senators made the statement that all districts needed to "share the pain" of the budget cuts that are being proposed for public education. This same senator, when asked about equity of the funding, stated that "equity and fair are different." My question is how is it fair or equitable to cut those districts who have been at the bottom of the revenue scale and have been "sharing the pain" for decades the same as those districts who have benefitted from higher revenues?

Just as an example, let's take Harleton ISD's Target Revenue number ($4952) and compare that with the Target Revenue of Hallsville ISD ($6046). Both districts do a great job of educating children, but Hallsville is guaranteed $1094 more dollars per student to do so. With a class of 22 students that would be $24, 068 more, but we are still required to meet the same standards and accountability measures. Is it fair or equitable to then suggest that we should receive the same cut in funding as they do?

Harleton ISD has been sharing the pain. We just need our representatives to realize that.

Welcome Back!

I just want to welcome everyone back from Spring Break. Hopefully, you were able to get some rest and relaxation and are renewed for the remainder of the school year. We will have a lot of activities from now until the end of school including the TAKS tests. Try to remember that we are all working together for the success of all of our students. It takes us working as a team to do this.

Once again, welcome back, and I look forward to a successful and productive remainder to our school year.

Perry Says State Not To Blame for Teacher Layoffs

Governor Perry recently made the statement that, in essence, was that the local school districts are to blame for teacher layoffs. Technically, he's telling the truth. He or other representatives at the state level will not be coming to school districts to make that decision, but the decisions about teachers and educators are being made because of the decisions that have been made in Austin.

The governor has also stated that the ratio of staff to teachers has increased dramatically over the last decade. This is absolutely not correct. The fact is that this ratio has actually had a slight decrease. Yes, there are many employees of school districts who are not teachers. It takes a lot of people (i.e., bus drivers, custodians, maintenance, administrators, and instructional support staff) as well as teachers to run an effective school district. Many of these employees are hired in an attempt by the districts to fulfill mandates that have been sent to the districts by the state without the funding that is required to implement the mandates. The fact is that a little over a decade ago the state funded about 50% of education funding. That number is now approximately 37%. The difference has been shifted to the local taxpayer.

The reality is that the legislature, at Gov. Perry's direction, made a conscious decision to "buy down" the property tax rate of $1.50 to $1.00 per $100 of valuation and replace it with a margins tax that they were told by experts would never made the difference in revenues. They decided to do it anyway. Schools have also essentially had their funding tied to 2005-2006 levels. School districts could fire all non-teaching staff and still not provide enough revenue to cover the deficit created by this decision (according to TEA).

No, the state legislature will not come to your district and fire anyone. That terrible decision is left to the school districts, but can we honestly believe that these decisions are not being forced on districts from the state level?

The Perry Legislature's Choice

I know you're all getting tired of hearing the "bad news" out of Austin. Believe me, I am too. We know that the economy has not been good over the last couple of years, and the slow economy has been used as the scapegoat as to why Texas faces this historic budget deficit. But, I want you to know the truth behind the shortfall. The fact is that the legislature created a structural deficit when it "bought" down the property tax rate from $1.50 to $1.00 per $100 valuation and replaced that tax with a Margins Tax that was never intended to raise the same amount of revenue.

In a letter written by then State Comptroller, Carole Strayhorn, we see that warnings were issued to the governor and legislators that the choices they were making would be the cause of an historic budget shortfall in the state. Surprise! It came true. It is terrible to think that our representatives would choose to make decisions that would ultimately hurt our state, and that they would do so knowingly. But, they did.

You can see the letter here.

What is Right About Texas Public Schools?

I want to turn your attention today to an article written by a fellow superintendent. We often hear how bad our education system is from the media and many politicians, but I would like you to know the truth. Please visit the following and find out "What is Right About Texas Public Schools?"

http://superintendent.wonecks.net/2011/02/23/what-is-right-with-public-school-education/

Got Your Umbrella? It's Raining in Texas

Yesterday I travelled with a group of superintendents, board members, and others to the capitol to visit with state representative Bryan Hughes and state senator Kevin Eltife. We made this trip to attempt to provide these representatives with useful data and concerns to help them with their decision making process as they work to create a budget with the state having a $27 billion deficit. They have a difficult task ahead of them, and I hope and pray that they are able to keep the future of our great state in mind as they tackle these issues.

One of the items that struck me as surprising was the fact that some members of the House are reluctant to tap the Rainy Day Fund. Isn't a downturn in the economy the reason this fund was set up in the first place? That's how you run a business isn't it? When times are lean you have to cut the fat and use the reserves to get you through until the turnaround. Well, guess what...the lean time is here.

What was that? Do you feel rain? Texas, it's raining...It's time to use the Rainy Day Fund. We cannot allow public education to fail. The results are too costly to our state in the long run.

$3.66/HR

What does it cost to educate a child in Harleton ISD? That is the question that I wanted to answer due to the latest coverage on the national, state, and local medias. They have called for schools to be more efficient, and I don't blame them. We all want our tax dollars to be spent efficiently don't we?

Let's first take a look at what the state guarantees our district in terms of revenues. The way the school finance system works in Texas is that each school has been assigned a Target Revenue Number based upon data and revenues from 2006. This number has remained essentially the same since that time. By taking the Target Revenue Number and multiplying that number by a district's Weighted Average Daily Attendance number (WADA, this is the state's formula for realizing that some students cost more to educate than others) a district is able to essentially determine what their guaranteed revenues will be.

What does this mean for Harleton ISD? Our district's Target Revenue Number is $4952 (the lowest in Harrison County). If I take this number and multiply it by our number of WADA (approximately 1000), then I get a guaranteed revenue of $4,952,000. This amount consists of local tax monies plus whatever state monies have to be added to equal that amount. In other words, if your property values increase, then the state's share decreases.

These are big numbers and probably don't mean a whole lot to you. Let's break it down so that we can tell exactly what the state is guaranteeing that our district will have in order to educate your children. If we take the Target Revenue Number ($4952) and divide that by the number of school days (180) and then divide by the number of hours in a school day (7.5) we get the hourly rate that is being spent to educate your child. The number comes to a whopping $3.66/hr. We are able to provide transportation, food service, extra curricular activities, and instruction from certified teachers for less than what you could pay a babysitter.

Harleton ISD is doing more with less. Let our state legislature know that they must take care of their responsibilities to our children.

Make Education a Priority

Harleton ISD, along with over 500 districts around the state, have joined together by passing a board resolution pleading with our legislators to "Make Education a Priority" during this legislative session. Many school districts are hurting financially and are having to consider painful cuts to their programs. The legislature has tied district's funding to what it was during the 2005-2006 school year, and we all know how much things have gone up in price since that time.

I understand that we all want to make sure that schools are being efficient with the tax dollars, and I agree. We must work hard to "get the most bang for our buck." Harleton ISD recently received a 5-star rating from the Comptroller's office based upon efficiency and student achievement. Our district was in the top 3% of public schools in Texas. We are working effectively and efficiently, but if the legislature does not do something to help, even our great district will eventually "hit the wall" where we will have to face those tough decisions.

Our children are our most precious resource! They deserve the very best, and our legislature needs to ensure that we give all of our children an opportunity for success. Please contact your representatives and let them know that you want them to "Make Education a Priority." Click here to find your senator and here to find your representative.

School Finance

If you have seen the news recently, you know that much of the talk has been about the cuts to state programs, public education included, that will occur over the next couple of years due to the state's budget shortfall. Many districts are having to make difficult decisions concerning programs and staffing. Thankfully, our district has been prudent and conservative with our funds and have been able to run efficiently with less. In fact, our district was in the top 4% of schools in Texas based upon getting the "most bang for the buck" according to the Comptroller's Financial Allocation Study of Texas (FAST) report. Our district received the highest rating of 5 stars.

I invite everyone to view an article that I wrote about the current school finance system and the effects that this system has upon Harleton ISD. It is very interesting, and I feel that all taxpayers need to know about these issues. The article can be found on the Harleton ISD website at www.harletonisd.net.

February 9, 2011

Wow! What a strange winter we are having in east Texas this year! Once again, we are witnessing sleet and snow. Of course, the kids love to get out of school, but they never seem to love having to make up the days they miss.