BACK ON THE ISSUES: THE BOND, NEW SUPER, PALAZZOLO CASE

We figured the district thought we would forget about these issues after a nice Turkey dinner!

Well we haven't and we won't until we see results.

Let's start with the superintendent search.... the firm of Ray and Associates has been conducting the search and among the items was to meet with the community to hear what they want in a new superintendent.  Resoundingly they want someone who is not a current or former employee, we already went through one and look how it turned out.  The community told them stories about the lack of trust in the administration and board members, workplace bullying, corruption and generational gaps that do not allow the district to move forward.  Ray and Associates is proud of their record in find good candidates because they listen to stakeholders and they have spoken loudly.  Here we have their mission statement:"We will provide our clients with the highest quality services to assist them in hiring leaders who will meet district specific needs and positively impact the education of all students."

This brings us to the issue we have now with the likes of Needham who from what we hear is pushing Sorum to go for Superintendent.  If you recall back when Johnson left, he applied for the El Paso position and got rejected so he stayed as consolation and got a hefty raise.  Needham needs to know loud and clear that the people do not want someone who is currently working in the district.

Johnson brought him and she needs to dance him away.  We need to oppose any inclination of Sorum being a candidate for Superintendent.  The reason the district is where it is it's because he has been involved for more than 5 years and has ruined it.  Every year is something new and teachers are tired of it.

After seeing that picture we all may need a drink, heavy one at that!!!!

Now we move onto the PALAZZOLO CASE
As you may remember the district has stopped discussing at the board meetings anything related to the case.  They did not discuss the appeal made nor any of the decisions made by the court.  The district is wanting to move the case from Wise County to Tarrant County because they have the big whigs ready to squash this case down.  The new hearing is set for December 22 and guess what, the district requested a jury hearing.  They figured that Joe would give up and that it would not come at a time when they are searching for the new super.  Well they are wrong and are doing everything they can to stop this from continuing.  Remember that the district was sued for TOMA violation.  Once again they sent a request for change of venue in the name of the FWISD Board of Trustees who have not voted to make that motion nor anything related to the case.  Utterly incomprehensible that our elected leaders are not taking this seriously and allowing funds to be used without accountability.  There is no insurance that is paying for this, the district is paying for it.  Below are documents that were filed.  Dr. Sutherland we need you to make a point of order to ask when the decision was made to appeal and also how the lawyers are making requests on behalf of the board when no votes have been taken.

DISTRICT FILES MOTION FOR CHANGE OF VENUE
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B58nQYNsVgwwTkZvbVA0dTJHcWRJcF85VWJ3dE5IUjItLTY4/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B58nQYNsVgwwLWdMV29zV3JJeHFxTFVDSktkUE56QTYxVU5v/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B58nQYNsVgwwUzRUM3owR0xveEV6TmkwT21yT0ZSOU1CaUw0/view?usp=sharing
After reading the documents all I can say is FWISD should of hired monkeys to do the work because the rebuttals are horrendous.

TOMA SUIT
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B58nQYNsVgwwWmY5TFRoMlg2dnQ5SEtwTl90Uk9LUHRyMTVF/view?usp=sharing

FINALLY.. some links related to the last issues we had with the prior bond and also one document of how Hank Johnson brought the GPISD budget down and then left.  As he just did with loss of revenue.  You be the judge.

http://archive.fwweekly.com/content.asp?article=2392

www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20100712-Fort-Worth-ISD-audit-findings-withheld-4934.ece

http://www.gcisd-k12.org/cms/lib4/TX01000829/Centricity/Domain/50/220906a6.pdf

AND THE BOARD RACE IS ON!

Dr. Sutherland has decided to run for re-election next year!

Who will be next to announce?

Elections matter folks, we need to change the make up of this board, get your vote ready!!!

VIOLATE BOARD POLICY AND GET AWAY WITH IT IN THE FWISD!

So the following people violate board policy and get to keep their jobs plus raises.  So the board of trustees cannot enforce its own policies and makes special considerations for all.  I wonder if any other employee would be treated the same way.  I wonder if teachers did not do their lesson plans or every little thing Sorum wanted if they can ask for board consideration?  How about a raise?

Where is the oversight?  People are fired for dumb reasons and yet their majesties get to stay!

JACKSON SAID WHAT?

We needed to come back to this fine moment when an elected representative of the FWISD commented on what kids should do when they ride on the bus to get to school for an hour for the new STEM ACADEMY.  Listen:

So Ms. Jackson whose children don't even attend her own district 2 schools has the audacity to say that every other child should ride the bus as long as it takes.  Of course we know this is in support of Needham where it looks like the STEM will reside in Benbrook.  So does her child ride the bus to Paschal?  Interesting on how the Johnson's aka(Jacksons) see our children and it's not a bother because she doesn't have to get up at 4:30 or 5 AM to get her kids to the bus stop early enough so they can make it to school.  Why aren't East Side schools good enough for you?

SHAME!!! and LOOKS LIKE SHE IS ASHAMED OF THE SCHOOLS SHE CLAIMS TO REPRESENT

Fireworks at the Board Meeting

If you didn't get a chance to see the last board meeting this week, you should!!! It was filled with lots of fireworks and a lot of nonsense from administration.  We will take a few pieces that we think are relevant and the citizens need to know because we know that everything presented looks good.

One thing to mention, can the board find better words to use than " it was a good report"  It seems everything presented by admin is a good report, middle schoolers can put a power point together.  Shows us how out of touch board members are when they cannot critique something intelligently.

Will write something below each portion of video that follows:

There are still problems with the SCAs contrary to what Sorum says.  Time consuming, 1st graders having to bubble, etc. etc.  You can hear some items when Sorum presents.  But Poole here brings the perspective of what teachers are feeling out in the field.  We agree, how about some autonomy for teachers to do what is best for their classroom in collaboration and support from admin.  It's always a top down approach and has been for many years in FWISD.  The SCAs are so fragmented and let's not fool ourselves they are test items that were just broken into three week cycles.  There is nothing different except that 4 questions determine mastery of the standards.  We didn't put Sorum's presentation because it's long and filled with nothing that is going to impact student achievement.  One question the board forgot to ask as we watched this is, within the report where is the data for the standards that were tested and how well did students master them.  We don't need to know passing student rate, we need to know if the students are doing well or not.  No specific data presented just gibberish.  Why do you have all those people sitting there and cannot provide information that we needed to know to see if the SCAs are working and the curriculum.  It was more substance about the giving of the test and what they say are good remarks from staff.  They brought accolades, their data from 11 campuses they visited out of 144.  They didn't even publish which schools they visited, so just giving what data they think makes it look good.  Board comment" that was a good report." blah!

Some uneasiness of the SCAs.  Ms. Paz, you as leadership do have the authority to vote it down not necessarily administrate the SCAs but you adopt policy.  Make a motion that SCAs not be given.

Once again another program change in the middle of the game and bad training from the very people that are being paid extra money, so called consultants.  More teaching to the test as you will see on Fridays, students will be doing STAAR work.  So now they expect teachers to implement after half a day of training and no time to prepare and practice.
See the following teacher comments from a teacher on the Sutherland Blog:

IN THE MEAN TIME THEY EAT LIKE KINGS and we can't afford anything in the classroom

So they can eat and we can't even get a snack with the budget

Avila has no clue what he is talking about.  He forgets that he was elected to the area he represents because he lives in the district.  Wait, he didn't get voted in, the opponent was coerced to drop out.  So technically one vote would have been enough.  What a ridiculous comment.... how can someone not live here and understand how our students live and what we are about.  Living in the castle doesn't help, Avila get out and see the community for once.

You just have to love it!  Money at its best here.. self-interests loud and clear
Mayhem in the FWISD

Nepotism alive and well at O.D. Wyatt

Seems the Criss family have jobs for all family members:

Linier Criss

Dominque Criss

Meyer Criss

Quinin Criss

Zachary Criss

All family members working at OD Wyatt together. Was this a promise from Walter Dansby or T.A. Sims?

New superintendent needs to know about this continue FWISD way of hiring.

You got a job is related or personal friend of a board member and/or superintendent. You don't even need to be qualified- free job via an affair, a family line, or a cover up. 

Check it out- it is an easy find!

THE SWEET DEALS JUST KEEP ON COMIN'

The saga that is FWISD folks....

So it so happens that all this talk about residency lines has a purpose and it all goes to benefitting the ones at the top.  If you are reading this and any other blog call your board member to vote against the proposed residency guidelines, meaning they want to do away with it for anyone.  Dallas, Keller, San Antonio and other districts require their higher ups to live within the district. Yes folks it's ON PURPOSE!

Basically what we have found out is that the residency lines are for the new superintendent which begs to question why the person hired would not live within the district he or she is supposed to be vested in.  As you can see we smell a rat and the rest of them are lining up to also benefit from.
Take Sorum who according to the blog got a nice 4500 sq ft home for less than 300,000 close by the admin building.  On Dr. Sutherland's blog it says that it was bought for .61 a sq ft, interesting!

Then we get to Barbara Griffith and the sweet deals she has gotten with salary and perks.  She gets to ride on a company vehicle and do her second job with other districts.  Nice how we wish we had a company car!

Read below from Dr. Sutherland:

Dansby's budget had $75,000 for a Cadillac Escalade for Barbara to drive around in. Just part of his $21 million in "enhancements" that will drive us toward insolvency. Wait till you see the "new" budget on Tuesday . . . 

Valerie Carrillo, FWISD attorney, is supposedly going to leave but in the mean time has been covering up all of this.  So much for integrity and ruining your career to cover for the corrupt in the district.  Yes folks it's corruption at it's best and it continues.    Go Valerie because they will get you at some point.......

So Board Members-who is lining up your pockets to make all these changes and allow higher ups to embezzle on the backs of the students of FWISD.  You all speak like you have integrity and yet you show each day that you don't.  

BETRAYAL AT METRO OPPORTUNITY HIGH SCHOOL

While we were distracted from the bond issue and the money problems that seem to arise time after time.. we learned how our fellow educators at METRO, under Trustee Ramos, have discovered through the STAR that their location more than likely would be the new STEM or that it is being considered without any form of communication from the very person that came into office promising something different.  Teachers feel betrayed and once again no communication comes to them, where will they go, what about the students?  The district again offers nothing more.  Didn't Avila just mention at the board meeting that we need to do a better job to get the word out?  Wait first you have to be around long enough to hear it and not be traveling for personal gain.

So Mr. Ramos where are you now?  You have been MIA from Metro, showing up one time, and we hear the you and fellow board members are about kids and yet words mean nothing.  Here is another prime example of a personal agenda set on gaining personal wealth on the back of kids.  Whatever happened to cultural awareness and just basic culture and climate.  There is nothing in the talk that has helped anyone but you, your family and friends around you.

It's ok for other kids to be affected because having a STEM would make it look great but you have yet to talk about the students and teachers who would be affected.  How about showing up at the schools that also need help.  So happens that the school where your children attend gets the majority of everything.  How interesting that they come into the district from private school and now are atop other students who didn't have that opportunity and who are still not reaping the benefits.  How long will you stay? You are an FWISD trustee, not North Side ISD.   

We hear you Metro staff... empty words, empty promises.  Shame on all those who say they are about education and can't even do the basics.

THE BOND THAT BINDS

Well Folks, here we are debating the bond project that was the pride of Dansby and everyone who was to benefit... looks like they had no issue with the turf at a million a piece. The biggest difference between this bond and the last one is that people are actually looking into it and asking questions as we are.

Now we come to the construction of schools and other projects that apparently will not be built as desired and all of a sudden we have costs that are higher than was expected .

The STAR posted an article on the recent meeting of our board and administration on what they were going to do with the projects.  As we read on it, we sort of got two stories going.  Our board members like Avila and the CIP Chief state that the cost of the construction has risen since the bond and that's what you have to deal with.  I don't recall in the last bond ever debating these issues I wonder what was different because those were more difficult times.  In the article they mention that the issue is the labor shortage which is increasing costs, so which is it?  If you need workers to reduce the cost there are plenty of people looking for work that are hands on labor.  Something doesn't feel right about all of this and I am sure that due to the closeness with AECOM and now Mr. Avila who has a construction in the family background, I am sure feels he has the lead on this.

What also doesn't sound quite right is why they are having to reduce classrooms to save on costs when I would of hoped that they did the right surveying to make sure that what was needed at each school was taken into account.  So now you don't need extra classrooms then if this was to go ahead without changes what would you have done with the extra classrooms?  Why don't you have the right numbers when it comes to student population increase?  Sounds to me that the construction issue is not everything that is being told to the public.  Yes we do face an industry like any other that will have costs rise but then we hold the purse on that because we can find a company that will do a good job at a lower cost.  We are not talking about chum change when it comes to the projects, these are in the millions so I am sure that there is not one company that will say no I won't do it and let the money go.

So we took to the internet and found a report by the state comptroller that shows construction of schools within our state.  Houston built nicely at a lower cost and they are way bigger than us.  We echo Moss' (yes I know) message, show the bids, show everything before you vote because we need to see what we are getting.  Most of those reductions do come on the East Side, what are the reasons there?  Don't hide it FWISD!  
Don't settle for what Avila says basically, we just have to deal with it and that's it.  No, we are responsible for the people's money and it is our duty to do everything to get it done right and at a good cost.
Read for yourself.  P.S. The star makes you pay to read the article but we have it here.
The link to the Comptroller's Report is below the article.

STATE REPORT: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B58nQYNsVgwwN09TREJpZVVObVk/view?usp=sharing

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT LIABILITY COVERAGE FUND? WHO IS IN CHARGE OF THE FUND? WHERE IS THE ACCOUNTING?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B58nQYNsVgwwVm9taGFTN1RjOVE/view?usp=sharing

As we continue to investigate where the district gets coverage for all the fees and other expenses from litigation it boils down to a FUND.  You may ask what fund and why are we not hearing about this from the very people who do know what it is.

If you recall in previous posts we mentioned that some board members had indicated that the district had coverage for the appeal of the Palazzolo case and frankly made it seem for any suit.  We didn't think anything more because it seemed logical that insurance or a liability coverage seems normal to have in any business, etc.  So our citizens requested information on payouts from this fund or "thing" and we thought we had posted this but we will the response from the district.

It so happens that the district is Self-Insured, it is paying for everything in any litigation.  You can read what it has paid out in fees to the same attorneys who have been running the show and how there is no malpractice coverage of anything.  The agreement made with TASB is an inter-local agreement that just says they would use them as the agency to provide the services.

The other information we have been able to get is that the district at some point setup this self-insured fund because it is a way to save money when you can put money aside and invest the money for it to grow.  We have, correct us if we are wrong, not heard of this money ever being reported in the budget.  How much is this fund worth?  Who is taking care of it and what audits have been done to account for every penny spent?  Either the board knew, at least the long serving ones do, or they were not told as well.  So almost 5 years of Palazzolo and you do the math on the cost of just keeping it going and now the damages awarded.  We can't see even if there was coverage how it would keep paying and paying or would they say each time they appealed within the same case they would get another liability pay off.  As you can see it is very confusing and that is just the tactic used to keep the public from ever asking or even knowing what is going on.

This then brings us to the 40 million question or even the bond issue.  Why are the numbers suddenly not adding up?  Is there money flowing from one account to cover the FUND that we don't know about?  Hank Johnson resigns, central admin is a crazed ant pile that is panicking because they don't know who will be the new boss and what that person will do.

All we want to know is where is the money?  The district needs to fess up and tell the truth.  Too many lies and unknowns that do make us wonder what unethical things they are doing and getting away with.  Let's stop the traveling and get to work on what truly is impacting the district and our kids future.  So far all we see is selfishness on people using the district as ground for future endeavors.
More to come