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March 31, 2009
Austin school board puts plans for privately operated alternative school on hold
The Austin school district has put plans to hire a private company to operate an alternative school for struggling eighth and ninth graders on hold after trustees questioned the necessity of hiring a private company for the project and the root causes for the students’ struggles. Trustees said they also wanted to get input from incoming superintendent Meria Carstarphen, who takes over from current superintendent Pat Forgione, on July 1 .
“The folks that know this problem the best, in Austin at least, are the folks that are in front of me right now,” trustee Robert Schneider, right, told district administrators at the board’s Monday meeting. “I’m interested in hearing ideas on how to do it internally.”
As we reported in Monday’s paper and on Homeroom, with large numbers of Austin seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders lacking the basic skills to be successful in high school, the Austin school district had considered hiring Nashville-based private company Community Education Partners to open an alternative school this fall for about 650 eighth- and ninth-graders. The school would be for students who previously were held back, were promoted without passing the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, or failed multiple classes. (KVUE picked up the story too.)
Community Education Partners, which has contracted with public-school districts to operate academic and behavior-improvement programs in Houston; Richmond, Va.; Orlando, Fla.; and other cities for more than a decade, has seen student academic performance improve in some schools. But student performance in other schools has shown little improvement and the company has been accused by civil rights advocates of violating students’ constitutional and civil rights.
District administrators said that the district’s annual contract with Community Education Partners could cost about $5 million for an approximately 650-student school.
At Monday night’s school board meeting, trustee Vincent Torres asked administrators for a report on the root causes of the district’s high dropout rates.
“It seems that we have those challenges [with eighth and ninth graders] because we have failed somewhere,” he said. “It’s probably happening significantly earlier than [eighth and ninth grade] it’s just that that’s where it manifests itself.”
Forgione, right, said that hiring Community Education Partners or another private company to operate an alternative school could be a good use of the district’s share of federal stimulus funds.
“Could we not take two years, learn from it, and be ready after two years to build one of our own?” he asked trustees. “If we got special funding, we could move quickly on it,” he added.
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February 16, 2009
Elgin assistant principal goes to the wall for his students
According to the Elgin Courier, Elgin Elementary School Assistant Principal Jason Tharp promised his students they could duct tape him to the school wall if they met the school’s $7,000 fundraising goal. Promise kept.
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February 6, 2009
Race and the search for a new schools chief
Reporter Laura Heinauer writes in today’s paper that Austin trustees have narrowed down their list of candidates to replace superintendent Pat Forgione, who will retire at the end of June, to three.
And—surprise, surprise—race has become a major issue in the decision, with several board members pushing to put a Hispanic person in the position.
Coincidentally, Houston ISD superintendent Abelardo Saavedra announced Wednesday that he’ll be resigning by spring 2010. Saavedra was Houston’s first Hispanic superintendent, a fact that filled the president of the city’s Hispanic Chamber of Commerce with pride, according to the Houston Chronicle:
A strong supporter of Saavedra, Murillo said she hopes his successor appreciates diversity. “If that candidate happens to be Hispanic, that would be wonderful,” she said. “But in the end, the superintendent is going to have some really high standards to live up to.”
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February 3, 2009
Local school superintendents back off pay raises
At least two local school administrators are declining pay raises in an effort to demonstrate fiscal restraint in the face of a national recession.
Lake Travis Superintendent Rocky Kirk, currently one of the best paid supers in Central Texas — second only to Austin’s Pat Forgione — asked that the Lake Travis school board limit his raise this year to 2 percent, rather than the full 4 percent raise he is eligible for. In a statement, Trustee Jim Cummings wrote that Kirk, top right, asked for the smaller raise after sharing “his concern about the national economy in general and the impact that it is having on the Austin region, and to some extent, on the Lake Travis ISD community.” (Read board President Cummings’ comments on Kirk’s contract.)
So Kirk was making $231,520 in base pay and will now make $236,150 in base pay. He could have had $240,781 in base pay. (Superintendents’ base pay doesn’t include other benefits like district-paid insurance premiums, contributions to retirement accounts, car allowances, etc.)
And the lone finalist for the Hays superintendent’s post, Jeremy Lyon, middle right, isn’t asking the board for more than the current Hays superintendent makes. The move from his current position in Oregon, which pays about $172,000 in base pay, to Hays is going to be a lateral move for him financially, he said. (FYI, the cost of living is about a third less in Hays County than in the Portland area.)
On the other hand, Austin Superintendent Pat Forgione, bottom right, who earns a base salary of $284,563, in the fall asked for reimbursement for his $6,200 hearing aids, a negotiated perk that Forgione hadn’t taken advantage of in past years.
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January 30, 2009
In which I serve as a Round Rock principal for a day
I spent today shadowing Gattis Elementary School principal Jennifer Lucas as part of the Round Rock school district’s Principal for a Day program.
You’ll be glad to know that they only allowed me supervised contact with the children and that, according to one charming fourth grader, I’m just like Lois Lane.
Insurance agent Greg Meyer, my co-principal-for-a-day, and I spent a lot of time with Ms. Lucas walking the hallways and stopping in classrooms, checking on how teachers were teaching and making sure that kids were on task. We saw one class finishing their stories on the naughty gingerbread man who got loose in the school, another learning about their word of the day (“perspective”) by drawing maps of their classroom, and another tending to their classroom garden.
Mr. Meyer and I also got to hear a rousing rendition of the Gattis school song and welcome football players from Stony Point High School, who stopped by Gattis to invite the younger kids to an upcoming town celebration of the team’s success.
Thanks much to all the teachers, staff and students who let me observe them in action today, and to Ms. Lucas and the RRISD PFAD program for the opportunity to learn a bit about how this particular elementary school does business.
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January 28, 2009
Arkansas super search process more open than Texas'
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how Texas law allows the Austin school district board of trustees could keep the names of those vying to replace outgoing Superintendent Pat Forgione private until trustees have made their final choice.
Open government advocates (ahem, the Statesman) think the process should be more open, with the board required to at least reveal the names of any candidates it interviews.
Most school board members say making applicants names public before the board selects its finalist(s) would discourage people from applying.
Turns out, Arkansas’ public information laws are a little different from Texas’. And last week, a list of people applying for the Fayetteville school district superintendent’s job was released. Among the candidates is Lago Vista superintendent Barbara Qualls.
The world did not end.
Qualls said she didn’t know before applying that her name would become public early in the process. But she hasn’t withdrawn her name from consideration since the list was released, she said.
And Arkansas School Board Association communications director Suellen Vann said that while Arkansas school districts, particularly small, rural districts, sometimes struggle to find suitable superintendents, “it has nothing to do with the search process itself.” It has more to do with struggles to “attract candidates who want to live in their communities for whatever reasons,” she said.
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January 26, 2009
Hays school board names future schools chief
The Hays school board unanimously named Jeremy Lyon, right, as the lone finalist for superintendent. Current Hays school district Superintendent Kirk London plans to retire at the end of this school year after five years with the district.
From the Hays school district:
Dr. Lyon has been the superintendent of Hillsboro School District in Hillsboro, Oregon since 2004, and has served in the Eanes, Leander, La Joya and Gilmer school districts in Texas.
Hillsboro School District, located near the western coast of Oregon about 20 minutes west of Portland, has 34 campuses and about 20,000 students. It is the fourth largest school district in the state.
Dr. Lyon served as the assistant superintendent and then superintendent of Coos Bay Public Schools in Oregon from 2000-04. He was assistant principal and then principal of West Ridge Middle School in Eanes ISD from 1993-2000. He worked as a high school science teacher and coach in Gilmer ISD, La Joya ISD and then Leander ISD before moving to Eanes ISD.
“It is an honor to be chosen as the next superintendent of Hays CISD,” said Dr. Lyon. “I look forward to working closely with the board, staff, parents, and the community on continuing to emphasize high student achievement at every school and to provide sound fiscal and operational management of district resources.”
“I am impressed by the board and administrative team’s planning for enrollment growth and for the support the community has given to the school district. These are two assets, among many in Hays that are benchmarks of an excellent school district,” he said. “It is an honor to follow a superintendent of the caliber of Dr. London and we will work closely together to ensure a smooth transition. My wife and I look forward to joining the community and to our return to Central Texas.”
Dr. Lyon earned his doctorate at University of Texas in Austin, his master’s degree at University of Texas-Pan American and his bachelor’s degree from A&M University.
Dr. Lyon will serve as lone finalist for 21 days, by state statute. The School Board has scheduled a meeting for Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Administration Office to complete contract negotiations.
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December 30, 2008
El Paso schools chief withdraws from AISD super search
Thanks, but no thanks.
El Paso superintendent Lorenzo Garcia, right, is the only candidate so far who has publicly declared that he might be interested in becoming the superintendent of the Austin school district after current super Pat Forgione, right, retires in spring 2009.
And now he’s the only candidate so far to publicly say that he’s not interested in the job. According to El Paso ISD, Garcia has withdrawn his name from consideration.
Garcia’s announcement comes after the Austin school board narrowed down their list of candidates to a handful. I have no idea whether or not Garcia was among those semi-finalists.
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December 7, 2008
El Paso school chief applies for AISD super's post
The El Paso TImes reports that El Paso superintendent Lorenzo Garcia has applied for the position of superintendent of the Austin school district, which current Superintendent Pat Forgione plans to retire from in the spring.
Garcia signed a new $272,944.87 contract to lead the 62,100-student district earlier this year, according to the El Paso Times.
AISD isn’t saying who else applied, but the Austin school board did meet Saturday to go over applications forwarded to them by their superintendent search firm.
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November 20, 2008
Austin schools chief financial officer to join troubled Dallas school district
Austin school chief financial officer Larry Throm is resigning to become chief financial officer of the Dallas school district, which is mired in a financial morass after the administration discovered an $84 million budget gap earlier this year. In recent weeks, the district has cut spending and laid off hundreds of employees in efforts to close that gap.
Throm, 58, has been with the Austin school district for almost nine years and in school business administration for 38 years. During Throm’s tenure, the Austin school district earned some of the highest debt ratings available to Texas public schools. Throm’s resignation is effective Dec. 19. He expects to start in Dallas in January.
Austin district officials said they are currently searching for an interim chief financial officer until a new permanent chief financial officer is hired.
Embattled Dallas superintendent Michael Hinojosa called Throm a “game-changer” with “excellent credentials and a solid reputation for putting in place effective financial systems and controls in Austin and other districts.”
When I spoke with Throm Thursday, he put it like this:
“I’ve been in this business 38 years, and after 38 years, you’ve learned a little something.”
Throm said that Hinojosa approached him with the job offer, which comes with a $258,000 salary, more than his current $210,000 base pay, earlier this fall.
After the jump, read the district’s written statement.
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November 18, 2008
Wimberley school board member resigns, offers advice
Wimberley school board member Jim Van Overschelde resigned last night, effective immediately, and in his resignation letter offered some parting words of advice.
Van Overschelde served on the board during interesting times: While he was on the board, the superintendent resigned under board pressure, the administration discovered that it owed the state more than it had thought under the state school finance system and the board considered not paying up, and,the district finally passed two bonds. The board also replaced the turf on the football field.
You can read his entire resignation letter here, but here’s some of his advice to the district:
In departing, I offer some comments and advice. Accept or reject as you see fit.
[Superintendent] Dwain [York], you have overseen two successful bond elections. Congratulations and thank you for your hard work. It is clear to me that you are passionate about what you are doing. As you move forward, get yourself and your principals as much leadership training as the district can afford. Research shows strong district and school leaders can have powerful and positive impacts on student achievement.
[Assistant superintendent] Dee [Howard], thank you for working to get the curriculum aligned from top to bottom. This is so important. Moving forward, I suggest you get a grant writer. A good one will more than pay for their salary. Apply for federal and state grants. They are out there.
Principals, thank you for your dedication and long hours. Later this year when you do performance appraisals of your teachers I encourage you to do a thorough job. Research shows that the bottom 10% of your teachers is probably doing tremendous damage to our students. Get rid of these teachers for our kids’ sake.
Teachers, thanks for your hard work and your passion for helping students learn about our world. I hope future boards will force the administration to make the changes necessary to pay you competitive salaries. If you want to help create change, get organized and be more involved. Come to board meetings and tell the Board what you need. Take notes from the athletic boosters. They are masters at doing this.
Finally, to the Board. Beware. I believe you are moving in a dangerous direction. When a majority of Board members believe their role is simply to approve what the administration presents, there is a problem. When the Board unknowingly approves an incomplete budget and the administration resists fixing it, there are problems. When I, as a member of the public, will have faster and easier access to district information than I do as a Board member, there is a problem. When Board members want to spend the $250k saved after the two refunding bonds passed instead of reducing the $1.7 million deficit, there is a problem. When Board members think it is better for TEA to take over the District than it is to make the difficult financial choices to keep the District solvent, there is a problem. See the pattern? Diligence is needed, not complacency.
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October 23, 2008
Austin school superintendent Forgione receives national honor
Austin Superintendent Pat Forgione, right, was selected from a group of 11 urban school superintendents from across the country to receive the Richard R. Green Award for urban education leadership at the Council of the Great City Schools in Houston tonight.
The award is named in honor of the first African-American chancellor of the New York City school system, who had also directed Minneapolis public schools.
From the Austin school district:
Austin School Superintendent Pat Forgione this evening was honored by the Council of Great City Schools as the nation’s Top Urban Educator…
Under Dr. Forgione’s leadership since 1999, the Austin School District has experienced an upward trend in academic achievement and narrowing of achievement gaps between student groups; a return to fiscal stability and a solid bond rating; three successful bond elections; and strengthened community support.
As the recipient of the Green Award, Dr. Forgione will receive a $10,000 college scholarship to present to a high school senior of his choice in the Austin School District or from his high school alma mater.
State Senator Kirk Watson of Austin nominated Dr. Forgione for the honor …
What do you think Forgione should do with the $10,000 college scholarship?
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October 16, 2008
Austin school chief celebrates birthday
Happy birthday to Austin school superintendent Pat Forgione, who turns 64 today.
Update, 2:10 p.m.: A district spokeswoman asked how the boss plans to celebrate his birthday says that Forgione, his three sons and his wife Kaye will celebrate tonight as Forgione receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Austin Project.
Oct. 16 is also National Boss’s Day. Coincidence?
Today is also the day on which the Statesman’s editorial board endorsed the school district’s tax rollback election in which voters are being asked to approve raising the district’s tax rate by 3.9 cents, money the district has pledged to spend on teacher raises.
Some teachers aren’t happy that the ballot language for the tax rate election doesn’t specify that the money will be spent on raises. The Statesman’s editorial board writes:
Though the proposition’s language isn’t very clear, we take school trustees and Superintendent Pat Forgione at their word when they pledge to abide by voters’ decision. The district is asking voters to approve well-deserved pay raises for the 12,000 teachers and other full-time employees who have gone without this year. If the ballot initiative passes, teachers and others will get a 3 percent raise for the current school year.
Teacher pay in Austin has not kept pace with inflation. Surrounding districts are giving raises and are aggressively recruiting Austin’s experienced teachers right out of their classrooms. Months ago, we challenged the timing and need to ask voters to increase school district taxes at a time when property values have increased. We urged school officials to come up with a budget that reflected both economic reality and the welfare of schoolchildren. We are satisfied that they accomplished that.The editorial also explains why they think the district needs to raise tax rates this year even though it is taking in more money because of rising property values. Answer:
The answer is that the Austin district is legally required to send most of its new money ($172.6 million) to the state under Texas’ school financing law. So without a tax rate increase, the owner of a home valued at $233,324 would have a tax bill $252 higher than last year solely because values went up. Of that, the Austin district gets to keep just $35. The state gets the rest — $217.
The details of the district’s budget aren’t yet posted online, but for an overview of the district’s budget click here. Previous years’ budgets can be found here.
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September 29, 2008
Austin schools chief undergoes appendectomy
From the Austin school district:
Austin School Superintendent Pat Forgione is resting comfortably today in an Austin hospital, after undergoing a laparoscopic procedure Sunday afternoon to have his appendix removed.
Dr. Forgione checked himself into the hospital earlier Sunday, after incurring discomfort.
Following his release from the hospital, later today or Tuesday, doctors say Dr. Forgione will need about one week’s rest and recuperation at home.
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September 18, 2008
Alabama city leaders to learn at AISD's knees
The Birmingham Business Journal reports that the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce’s will visit Austin next week to learn how to improve urban education, and about image, downtown redevelopment, transit and technology transfer, among other things.
The group will hear from Superintendent Pat Forgione who helped turn the school system around in the past decade. Forgione opened an office of accountability and created a mentorship program with faculty members and administrators assigned to students. The mentorship holds the faculty member accountable for a student’s absence or poor grades.
Birmingham Interim School Superintendent Barbara Allen, School Board Member W.J. Maye and the rest of the trip participants will visit Travis High School, an inner city school in Austin.
(Alabama cheerleader photo from Diamondduste.)
Any tips for our visiting Alabamians?
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September 3, 2008
Lake Travis school super gets raise
The Lake Travis school board unanimously approved a $6,000 raise for superintendent Rocky Kirk, right, last week. (The vote was 6-0, with board member Jason Buddin absent.)
Kirk’s $231,520 base salary makes him the the second-highest paid superintendent in Central Texas. Only Pat Forgione, superintendent of the 80,000-plus Austin school district, makes more.
Here’s a chart of Central Texas superintendents’ base salaries based on 2007-8 Texas Education Agency data. The chart doesn’t include additional benefits that can be worth thousands like annuity payments, car allowances and health club memberships.
In addition to his base salary, Kirk receives annual $5,000 payments into a tax-free annuity account, monthly payments equal to his contributions to the Texas Teacher Retirement System, and 15 leave days a year beyond the number other administrators receive.
The district also pays the premiums for Kirk and his immediate family’s health insurance. Last week, the board amended his contract to include an annual $6,000 payment for Kirk to use to purchase life insurance.
This August, the approximately 6,000-student Lake Travis school district received a “recognized” rating under the state’s school accountability system and five of its seven schools received the highest or second-highest accountability ratings.
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August 8, 2008
Permanent principal appointment for new Johnston postponed
The Austin school board has postponed hiring a permanent principal for the high school that will open on the campus of the former Johnston High School in East Austin at the start of this school year.
On Monday, the school board is expected to appoint current interim principal David Kernwein, right, a veteran district administrator, the “permanent” interim principal for the 2008-9 school year.
The district apparently got plenty of applicants for the permanent principal job before they decided to postpone hiring one. I sent the district a public information request for all the applications for the Johnston job (excluding private information like Social Security numbers and the like) and was told there were 255 pages’ worth.
The district plans to open a four-year largely traditional high school on the Johnston campus this year. Next year, they plan to supplant that school with two new high schools, possibly an early college high school and a technology-focused high school.
Patti Everitt from the Austin school district’s department of high school redesign says that the district plans to post ads for permanent permanent principals for the two new schools as soon as they know for sure what the models for the new schools will be. They plan to hire the new principals January in order to give them time to prepare for the 2009-10 school year, she said.
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July 22, 2008
Former local superintendent, principal resigns from new job
Hector Montenegro, right, a former San Marcos district superintendent, Austin area superintendent and Johnston High School principal, resigned Monday from his position as superintendent of the Arlington school district less than six months after taking the job.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Montenegro’s resignation comes during an internal investigation into whether Montenegro broke state law by accepting honorariums from educational nonprofits that did business with the district:
In April, school district attorneys advised Montenegro to not accept honorariums from two groups that do business with the district, Advancement Via Individual Determination Foundation and the HOPE Foundation of Indiana. But e-mail records and attorneys’ letters released Monday under the Texas Public Information Act show that he continued seeking speaking engagements with HOPE.
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July 16, 2008
Manor hires new high school principal
The Manor school district has hired former Houston administrator Randy Willis to serve as principal of Manor High School.
Willis comes from Lamar High School, a 3,300-student comprehensive high school in Houston, pictured at right, where he served as associate principal and dean of instruction for three years. Lamar High offers an International Baccalaureate diploma program and a magnet business administration program. Based on preliminary 2008 TAKS results, Lamar is expected to be rated “recognized,” the second highest rating under the state accountability system, Manor district officials said.
Willis received his bachelor’s degree from George Washington University, his master’s degree in education from Northwestern State University, and has successfully completed the Principal and Superintendent Certification Programs at Sam Houston State University. Willis has also completed more than 50 hours of post-graduate work, district officials said.
Willis replaces former Manor High School Principal Carlton Tucker, who was named principal of Georgetown High School earlier this summer. Willis started work in Manor Monday, Interim Superintendent Andrew Kim said.
Here’s what Kim says about Manor’s newest principal:
“I feel that we are very fortunate to have an instructionally focused leader who is very collaborative. I believe that we will take the high school to the next level in terms of performance and as a model for not only our school district but hopefully the entire state under his leadership.”
In other Manor school news, Decker Elemenary School has a new principal.
Former Manor professional development specialist Leslie Whitworth is returning to Manor to serve as Decker’s principal after spending the last year as asssistant principal at Blazier Elementary School in Austin.
The district’s press release says that Whitworth is “looking forward to providing leadership and collaboration with the students, staff and community of Decker Elementary and loves working with others to facilitate solutions to challenges in the classroom, home or school community.”
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July 10, 2008
Manor names lone finalist for super's spot
From the Manor school district:
In a special called Board Meeting on Wednesday, July 9th, Manor ISD School Board members voted unanimously to name Interim Superintendent Andrew Kim as the Lone Finalist for the Superintendent position. Former Board President, now Vice President Ben Arellano, said it was an honor to be able to make the motion to recommend Mr. Kim as the Lone Finalist.
Mr. Kim has served the District as the Interim Superintendent since February 2008. Prior to that, he served as Manor ISD’s Deputy Superintendent from June 2005 - December 2008.
Board President Desiree Cornelius-Fisher commented, “In the three years that I have worked with Mr. Kim, he has exemplified integrity and character.” The Board will conduct a special called meeting 21 days from now to name Mr. Kim as the Superintendent.
During public forum, support for Mr. Kim was presented to the Board by Mr. John Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of Texas High School Project, who voiced his opinion as a private citizen and former board member in another district. Fitzpatrick stated that he has seen a positive difference in Manor ISD since Mr. Kim’s arrival and commented on Kim’s character traits that will make him a successful superintendent for the District.
“I am honored by this tremendous opportunity to work alongside the Board of Trustees as we serve the students, parents, staff and community of Manor ISD. I am especially thankful to the Board for their leadership and to the community for the outpouring of their support throughout this process,” remarked Kim.
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June 17, 2008
Hays school superintendent to retire next year
Hays CISD superintendent Kirk London announced his retirement at a school board meeting Monday night. London’s retirement is effective at the end of the 2008-09 school year.
Two other top Hays administrators — deputy superintendent Bob Presley and executive director of elementary curriculum Dolores Riley — also announced their retirements at Monday night’s school board meeting. The school board appointed chief financial officer Carter Scherff as deputy superintendent.
In the past 36 years, London has been a teacher, coach, assistant principal, high school principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent, according to a written statement from the district.
The district plans to conduct a nationwide search for a superintendent and does not plan to hire an interim superintendent, according to the statement.
London’s retirement plus Austin superintendent Pat Forgione’s upcoming retirement means two Central Texas superintendent positions will be up for grabs next year.
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May 21, 2008
Johnston principal taking job at Bastrop High
Johnston High School Principal Celina Estrada-Thomas will become the principal at Bastrop High School, Bastrop district officials announced today.
Estrada-Thomas who came to the Austin school district in 2002, was the principal at Dobie Middle School for three years. Prior to that she was a principal and assistant principal in Round Rock.
“Dr. Estrada-Thomas is someone that will have an immediate positive impact on the students, staff and the community as a whole,” Bastrop Superintendent Roderick Emanuel said. He added: “With her strong background in curriculum and instruction, we are expecting great things from Bastrop High School.”
Johnston, which has been rated “unacceptable” for the past four years, is still waiting on results from this year’s Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. After five years of unacceptable ratings, state law says a campus can either be closed or put under alternative management. District officials, however, are trying to work out a way to allow the campus to stay open next year and still under district control.
Estrada-Thomas resigned from her position at Johnston Tuesday and will leave at the end of the school year. She will replace Michael Benedict, who left the Bastrop district this spring under pressure.
Benedict had been reprimanded after an investigation found he made inappropriate comments to staff, including making comments about one staff member’s weight and calling another by a nickname that the employee felt was demeaning.
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May 14, 2008
Jarrell superintendent cited on nepotism charges
The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office has issued a citation to Jarrell school district Superintendent Jamie Mattison for violation of state nepotism laws, detective John Foster said today.
Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley said his office received an anonymous complaint against Mattison weeks ago. Bradley said he asked the sheriff’s office to investigate it.
Foster said sheriff’s investigators issued Mattison a misdemeanor citation, which carries a fine of up to $500. Foster said he did not know any details of the case. He said Williamson County Attorney Jana Duty is handling the misdemeanor.
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April 10, 2008
Liberty Hill superintendent to retire
Dean Andrews, superintendent of the Liberty Hill school district since 1998, announced Thursday he will retire at the end of this semester.
Andrews was superintendent of Mexia schools before coming to Liberty Hill.
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March 18, 2008
Austin High principal to leave
Austin High School Principal John Hudson, who earlier this year weathered criticism from a group of influential parents on his management style and other issues, says he will resign.
Hudson, who was hired in 2006, told the Statesman in an interview today that he will leave after the end of the school year to work for an arm of the Texas Education Agency.
Of his days at Austin High, Hudson said his proudest accomplishment has been to sharpen the focus on improving curriculum and instruction. He said he hopes the district will find someone who will continue that work, as well as someone who will watch out for the interests of all students.
“I hope they look for somebody who has a strong background in curriculum and instruction and somebody who is a fierce advocate for those students who have no voice or who are traditionally under served,” Hudson said.
In January, a group of parents — who included George and Marcia Edwards, who serve on the booster club and campus advisory council, respectively; Anne Wynne, an attorney and former member of the Texas Transportation Commission; Steve Saunders, creator of the school’s endowment fund and father of two alumni; and Rick Potter, a booster club member — sent a letter to Superintendent Pat Forgione outlining its displeasure with Hudson, who was hired in 2006, and called for his dismissal.
In the letter, the parents said Hudson does not support parents, students or teachers, and said he did not revere some of the 126-year-old school’s traditions. They faulted him for cutting the number of pep rallies and reading a book during one of the few athletic events he has attended.
They accused him of “confiscation of Class of 2008 senior funds,” money he wanted to use to clean up vandalism caused by the senior class. He returned the money after an initial protest from parents. The parents also claimed that Hudson has driven teachers away - more than 20 since 2006 - with ineffective leadership, poor communication and abusive tactics.
Meanwhile, a district survey showed overall support for Hudson after his first year, and some teachers said they were upset by the group’s efforts.
More than 170 faculty members, including 121 of the school’s 132 teachers, gave him good marks after his first year. On a scale of 1 to 4, with 4 being the highest, school staffers gave Hudson a 3 on average in response to whether he’s friendly and approachable, whether performance standards were clear and whether faculty members knew what was expected of them. He received a 2.7 on treating faculty members as his equals.
An educator for almost 40 years, Hudson had an embattled tenure in Connecticut and resigned under pressure from one high school. Staff members there accused him of being rigid, according to news reports; among other things, he was criticized for not allowing students to pick days they would serve detention.
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March 14, 2008
Bastrop principal disciplined for remarks
A story in today’s paper reveals that the Bastrop school board has renewed the contract of a high school principal who was disciplined last year after faculty members accused him of making inappropriate comments.
Bastrop High School Principal Michael Benedict was suspended with pay Dec. 5 while the district investigated complaints from Assistant Principals Terrell King and Lora Hardway. Benedict, who told district officials that he didn’t intend his remarks to be hurtful, returned to work Dec. 10.
In letters to and from district administrators, King and Hardway say Benedict:
made fun of King’s appearance at a faculty meetings, saying several times that he “did not want to see (King) in a Speedo.”
nicknamed King, Radio, in reference to a mentally challenged African American character in the 2003 movie “Radio.”
asked whether he should be concerned about being in a dark room with two African American people and laughed during a sudden power outage.
Benedict, who did not return calls for comment, said in a Dec. 5 letter to the district that he made the comments about King wearing a Speedo but didn’t mean for them to be hurtful. Benedict said he called King Radio because King’s walkie-talkie was often broken. Benedict said in his letter that he had only joked about being concerned about the lights going out, not about being in a room with African American people. Benedict wrote that Hardway was the one who said, “You know what that means. There are two black people in here with the lights out.”
“I have completely misread a working relationship with fellow administrators,” Benedict said. “As principal and leader of this campus, I should have used better judgement.”
The district recently released details on Benedict’s remarks after the state last week ordered administrators to comply with an open records request made by the Statesman under the Texas Public Information Act.
Benedict, 53, was hired in July 2006 at an annual salary of $106,500. On Feb. 19, trustees voted 4-3 to approve contract renewals for 44 administrators, including Benedict, as recommended by Superintendent Roderick Emanuel.
School board President James Allen said he thought King’s and Hardway’s grievances had been addressed and resolved.
“When you have an issue, you sit down and talk about it, and you move on,” he said. Allen said Benedict has improved student discipline and emphasized staff and student accountability. “He’s a very firm, fair principal that goes by policies and procedures.”
What do you think of the Bastrop school district’s response to Benedict’s conduct?
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February 19, 2008
Austin superintendent to retire in 2009
Superintendent Pat Forgione announced today that he will retire next year, after a decade of leading the Austin school district and a 40-year career in education.
Forgione, widely regarded in education circles as one of the best superintendents in the country, said in a sit-down interview with the Statesman today that he decided to announce his plans now to give Austin trustees ample time to find a successor.
“This district needs leadership for a decade. I can’t commit that long, so it’s a matter of finding a point where you transition,” said Forgione, whose contract ends in 2011. “It’s never easy, certainly emotionally, but you’ve got to do what’s best. I felt this district could recruit a great leader if the board has time to do that well.”
Forgione said his retirement will become effective June 30, 2009. He said making his plans known was particularly important with elections looming in May, including school board seats and a $343.7 million bond proposal.
School board President Mark Williams said Forgione’s long tenure has helped put the district in a good position.
“You can’t place a value on consistency and continuity of leadership,” Williams said, “especially strong, good leadership.”
Trustees did not pressure Forgione to leave, Williams said. Several asked him to reconsider when he informed them of his plans at last night’s school board meeting.
Forgione said his priorities over the next year will be to complete negotiations with the state about Johnston, pass the May bond package, tackle middle-school reform efforts, deal with a “tough budget” and open schools for the last time.
“I am fully committed for 16 months,” he said. “I’ll give the same effort I’ve always given. I’ve always said I wanted to put 10 years in.”
What do you think of Forgione’s tenure? What qualities would you like to see in Austin’s next superintendent?
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February 11, 2008
When principals come and go
School districts are finding it harder to hold on to their principals as standards get tougher and the list of demands from the state and federal governments gets longer.
Statewide, high turnover is particularly apparent in high schools. About 61 percent of high school principals leave their schools or the field within three years; by the fifth year, that figure increases to 76 percent. Austin’s turnover rates are slightly higher — 64 percent after three years and 82 percent after five years.
The district’s annual high school principal turnover rate is just over 25 percent, a figure that is on par with other urban districts, where yearly turnover tends to average between 18 to 25 percent.
When the principalship is a revolving door at a school, it trickles down to teacher retention efforts and school reform initiatives, which have vast implications for a district like Austin where the 11 traditional high schools are in various stages of reform with middle schools soon to follow. Local reforms have included redesigning high school to resemble colleges, including campuses creating career-oriented learning academies.
“We know that school reform takes time — much more than one year’s time,” said Ed Fuller, associate director of the University Council for Educational Administration at the University of Texas. “If a principal leaves within three to five years, the principal’s vision for reform is left incomplete. Over time, teachers become jaded and simply ignore the reform effort and the principal’s urging to change behavior. Teachers believe the principal will leave and all of their efforts will be wasted.”
Principal flight at some campuses has been extreme: Johnston High School went through 11 principals in 12 years before Celina Estrada-Thomas arrived in 2005, the same year that Reagan High had four principals in one year.
Geneva Oliva estimates conservatively that she saw seven principals come and go while her children attended Johnston between 1994 and 2003. The faces changed with such regularity that she says she didn’t recognize the principal from year to year.
“Every time a new principal came in, they’d come up with a new program,” she said, “but the new program was never completed because the principals left. What good is it to have good ideas if they aren’t there to finish it off?”
Education experts, principals and parents say working conditions in urban schools, combined with pressures to meet federal and state standards are driving the trend.
And principals at high achieving suburban schools feel the stress, too.
Hendrickson High School Principal Nelson Coulter remembers when principals only had to be successful politicians to keep their jobs. Now, the Pflugerville school leader says they have to be like coaches.
“You have to win,” said Coulter, a 30-year veteran educator.
How do you feel about the tenure of principals at your area schools?
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