August
16
2011
Parents don’t tricked into thinking the International Baccalaureate over the Advanced Placement Program.
The following video will give you the information you need.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBP3Yx-kDAI
May
24
2011
Proctor, Huckaby And Dibrell Sworn In As Newest Katy ISD Trustees
By: John Pape on Tue, May 24, 2011
Dr. Bill Proctor, Terry Huckaby and Henry Dibrell officially took the oath of office to become the three newest members of the Katy ISD Board of Trustees Monday night.
SWORN-IN – Recently-elected Katy ISD Trustee Terry Huckaby takes the oath of office from Fort Bend County JP Ken Cannata in ceremonies Monday night. Huckaby, along with Dr. Bill Proctor and Henry Dibrell, were all sworn-in as the school board’s newest members.
The swearing-in ceremonies came at 9 p.m. near the end of a special meeting that followed the regularly-scheduled board meeting and a lengthy presentation on potential cost-cutting measures by consultant Bill Lenhart.
Proctor was the first of the new trustees to take oath, which was administered by Fort Bend County Pct. 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers.
Huckaby and Dibrell then both took the oath of office from Fort Bend County Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace Ken Cannata.
Following the swearing-in, the three outgoing trustees – Chris Crockett, Judith Snyder and Eric Duhon – stepped down from the board table to be replaced by the incoming board members. Board Vice President Rebecca Fox temporarily presided over the meeting following the departure of Snyder, who had been board president.
With the new board seated, Fox called for nominations for board president for the 2011-2012 school year. Trustee Neal Howard nominated veteran board member Joe Adams, while Huckaby nominated Proctor.
Adams was elected on a 5-2 vote with Howard, Fox, Adams, Dibrell and Trustee Robert Shaw voting in favor of Adams. Huckaby and Proctor voted “no” on the vote for Adams.
With Adams seated as board president, trustees took up electing a vice president. Shaw nominated Fox; Huckaby again nominated Proctor. In a vote that mirrored the balloting for board president, Adams, Fox, Howard, Dibrell and Shaw voted for Fox, while Huckaby and Proctor cast dissenting votes.
In subsequent voting for remaining positions, Shaw was elected board secretary on a 6-1 vote with Proctor casting the sole “no” vote, and Howard was elected board treasurer on a 5-0 vote, with Proctor and Huckaby both abstaining.
The final board officer position, that of sergeant-at-arms, went to Dibrell on a unanimous 7-0 vote.
May
15
2011
I want to thank everyone they helped me during this campaign. I could have never done it without you! Everyone that forwarded an email, made a phone call, handed out a fliers, knocked on doors, helped at the polls, gave me advice, and what ever I may have missed. God Bless You and your families for allowing you to take time away from your family to help win this election. Thanks
May
15
2011
Your passion, honesty, and sincere desire to do what is right and fair are your greatest assets. No doubt, you will serve us well.
Cathy and Jim (and Bailey)
May
13
2011
http://www.katyisd.org/sb/Documents/1_Trustee_Election_Order_exh-English.pdf
Know your PCT #
Voting on Election Day will be held from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the following 17 voting sites:
| KATY ISD VOTING PRECINCT |
COUNTY PRECINCT(S) |
POLLING PLACE |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harris – 119, 149, 639 Waller – 417, 418 Not City of Katy Residents |
Katy High School 6331 Highway Blvd. Katy, Texas 77494 |
| 2 | Ft. Bend – 3014, 3130 Not City of Katy Residents |
Cinco Ranch High School 23440 Cinco Ranch Blvd. Katy, Texas 77494 |
| 3 | Harris – 95, 120, 283, 461, 711 | Maurice Wolfe Elementary 502 Addicks – Howell Houston, Texas 77079 |
| 4 | Harris – 362 | Cimarron Elementary 1100 South Peek Road Katy, Texas 77494 |
| 45 | Harris – 547, 751 | West Memorial Elementary 22605 Provincial Blvd. Katy, Texas 77450 |
| 6 | Harris – 260, 398, 517, 523, 621, 622, 771 | Bear Creek Elementary 4815 Hickory Downs Houston, Texas 77084 |
| 7 | Harris – 509, 522 | Taylor High School 20700 Kingsland Blvd. Katy, Texas 77450 |
| 8 | Harris – 400, 772 | Pattison Elementary 19910 Stonelodge Katy, Texas 77450 |
| 9 | Harris – 603, 720 | Diane Winborn Elementary 22555 Prince George Katy, Texas 77449 |
| 10 | Harris – 463, 521, 589, 804 879 (E. of Fry Rd.) |
Mayde Creek High School 19202 Groschke Road Houston, Texas 77084 |
| 11 | Harris – 305, 618, 813, 877 879 (W. of Fry Rd.) |
Morton Ranch High School 21000 Franz Road Katy, Texas 77449 |
| 12 | Harris – 619, 644 | Memorial Parkway Jr. High 21203 Highland Knolls Katy, Texas 77450 |
| 13 | Ft. Bend – 3004, 3132
|
Sue Creech Elementary 5905 South Mason Road Katy, Texas 7745 |
| 14 | Ft. Bend – 3122, 3133 | Beck Jr. High 5200 South Fry Road Katy, Texas 77450 |
| 15 | Ft. Bend – 3006, 3038, 3142, 3143, 3144 | Seven Lakes High School 9251 South Fry Road Katy, Texas 77494 |
| 16 | Harris County Precinct 639 Waller County – 417, 418 Ft. Bend Co. – 3014 City of Katy Residents in Ward A only |
City of Katy Municipal Building 910 Avenue C Katy, Texas 77493 |
| 17 | Harris County – 119, 639 City of Katy Residents in Ward B only |
Katy Municipal Court Bldg. 5432 Franz Road Katy, Texas 77493 |
May
11
2011
A. J. Durrani’s tries to “Strong Arm KISD in 2005 Election”
A friend of mine forwarded this delightful bit of information.
I think the source is;
By Helen Eriksen
Chronicle Correspondent
In the 2005 Election, Judy Snyder, the incumbent, was opposed by A. J. Durrani, Gregory Gibbs, and Stephen Wesolick. Jackie Birkel ran unopposed, and Eric Duhon was opposed by Kari Crow.
These are the results: Snyder 1221, Durrani 839, Gibbs 161, and Wesolick 442.
Birkel received 1893
Duhon 1439, Crow 900
After the election, this story appeared in the This Week section of the Houston Chronicle:
Ex-Katy ISD Board Candidate Accuses Employees of Prejudice
By Helen Eriksen
Chronicle Correspondent
June 21, 2005
Katy–An unsuccessful Katy school board candidate on Monday demanded the resignation of three re-elected board members, accusing them and district employees of racial prejudice.
In an open letter to the school board Monday night, A. J. Durrani expressed exasperation over pleas in a memo Ronald Jetton, executive director of secondary education at Katy ISD, sent to district employees, encouraging them to vote only for incumbent candidates in the May 7 election.
Jetton’s memo, sent on a district computer and also the subject of an investigation by the Fort Bend District Attorneys office, discouraged change in the makeup of the board, warning employees of the consequences of electing what he called the “wrong” kind of person.
Durrani, who is Indian, took that to mean someone who is not part of the racial majority of this once small rural, homogenous community.
Durrani lost his bid for a trustee position to incumbent Judith Snyder in a 839-1221 vote.
Katy Independent School District Superintendent Leonard Merrell denied any wrongdoing.
Durrani also said the district administration fails to reflect the current demographic makeup of Katy.
Merrell defended the district’s hiring practices of administrators.
Jeff Cook, the Texas Ranger investigating the case, anticipates completing the investigation this week and turning his findings over to Fort Bend District Attorney John Healey.
May
9
2011
Terry Huckaby says that during his 20-year or so career in public education he has had numerous chances to move up the ladder into administration. Yet, he has chosen not to do so. “To me the most noble position in public education is that of the classroom teacher. The superintendent may make more money but it is the classroom teacher that adds value to and changes the lives of children.”
Huckaby, who is running for the seat to be vacated by incumbent Eric Duhon, says he has served his career as a classroom teacher for the same reason that he is seeking a position on the Katy I.S.D. School Board. “The lives of the children I reach have become a part of my life. Superintendents and sometimes other administrators forget why they got in the business. A classroom teacher never forgets.”
Huckaby, a classroom teacher in Cy-Fair I.S.D., and his wife have lived in Katy for over 12 years. “I am running for the Katy I.S.D. School Board to help parents and teachers restore integrity to the system that the current board has desecrated by failing to hold its administrators appropriately accountable for their actions.”
Huckaby acknowledges that as a novice campaigner, he made a mistake in his campaign when he let the discussion of his family’s decision to send his two children to Faith West private school “get to me.”
“My wife and I want our children to go to a faith based school because that is our choice,” Huckaby said. “I should not have allowed the criticism to provoke an angry response. I should have left it for what it is: a decision that reflects our faith. “
“I have spent my career in the service of public education and it is the career in which I will retire,” Huckaby said. “Right now, the parents and classroom teachers of Katy I.S.D. have been shunned or rebuked by their school board. They support their superintendent rather than what is good for the taxpayers. I want to be on the school board that supports students, teachers, parents, and taxpayers of this district.”
“The message I want to send to parents is that when administrators impose needless burdens on the classroom teachers, they are affecting the delivery of instruction,” he said. “That’s what is happening in Katy more than most districts with which I have contact. Central administrators in Katy are well-known for popping out their ideological favorite programs of the month or the year for teachers to follow.”
“Teachers have more paper work than ever before. They are micromanaged more than ever before by central administrators that create busy work for classroom teachers to justifiy their jobs,” Huckaby said. “Administrators in Katy get by with this because they have a school board that likes being led around by the nose.”
“My first goal as a board member in Katy will be to start the process of establishing higher levels of accountability for the superintendent. Because this board has demanded so little accountability, that should be the first goal of a new board’s effort,” he said.
Huckaby says that classroom teachers don’t want their jobs to be made easier to save them work. “They want the ridiculous, administrative driven initiatives that have no educational value to the children in their classrooms to be curtailed so they can get back to doing what they do best – teach children,” he added.
Huckaby says there are tough decisions awaiting the new board. “I am willing to make tough decisions. I am also willing to tell the superintendent of schools that no one elected him to be a dictator about the budget and major policy decisions. The current board has surrendered its authority for image and has no idea what direction it intends to go. The current board members can only say we are taking Katy to the next level. What level and how are you going to get there? I want to help restore the credibility of the board.”
“The bottom line is that classroom teachers in Katy are genuinely respected by the parents and the public. That was evident with the outpouring of support they have received as the district fumbled the ball with the way it treated these outstanding professionals,” he said.
“There are a couple of things I wish I had known about campaigning before this campaign started. However, I know, that I care very much about my career in public education,” Huckaby said. “My goal is to make sure that the respect and admiration that has been seen by the public towards teachers in Katy is what guides us for the future. If that means we have to tell the superintendent “no” more often than not so he will be more accountable to us, then that’s the way it will have to be.”
May
1
2011
Early Voting Starts Monday
Three Board of Trustee Positions Open for Election
(April 28, 2011) – Monday, May 2 is the first day of early voting for the 2011 Katy ISD Board election, which will continue through Tuesday, May 10. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will also be a special Saturday early voting by personal appearance on Saturday, May 7, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Election Day is May 14.
Candidates (as they appear on the ballot) are as follows:
* Position 3: Chris Crockett and Dr. Bill Proctor
* Position 4: Terry Huckaby , Kurtis Gross, AJ Durrani and John Eberlan
* Position 5: Terri Yanoviak, Henry Dibrell and Judy Snyder
Residents may view a complete Voter’s Guide on the Katy ISD Website that includes information on all candidates, as well as polling locations and times.
Katy ISD is a TEA “recognized” district serving more than 60,000 students. Covering 181 square miles west of downtown Houston, Katy ISD is comprised of 53 campuses, and with more than 8,300 employees is one of the largest employers in the West Houston area.
“Bring Conservative Values back to KATY ISD”
April
27
2011
It was a Bear of an event!
Terry Huckaby will be holding a Town Hall Meet and Greet Fundraiser at;
Midway Barbeque
Friday 4/29/11 from 6PM to 8PM.
6025 Hwy Blvd, Katy, TX. 77494
Everyone’s invited, bring your children. Candidates will be available for questions and answers. The Katy area Teenage Republican Club will be there, come out and support us all.
Come out and support the Non-establishment Candidates.
April
26
2011
Annotated Documents: Texas Superintendent Contracts
As Texas schools brace for what could be as much as an $8 billion gap in state funding, they are scrutinizing every last dollar they spend — from landscaping to teacher stipends to gas for school buses.
About 80 percent of a school district’s budget is spent on staff. For most districts, there’s no way to pare down expenses without reducing the number of people employed. Some in the Legislature and public have questioned the amount schools and school districts spend on administration; others have wondered if the high pay of many superintendents might be a place to start wielding the knife.
We’ve collected and annotated the contracts of the 10 highest-paid school superintendents, along with those who lead the state’s 10 largest districts — for a total of 14 contracts — so readers can view their pay in the context of retirement perks, performance incentives, and benefits like monthly automobile and cellphone allowances.
Here’s what we’ve gleaned:
- Most districts pay for their superintendent’s monthly contribution to the Teacher Retirement System — except for Alief, which pays half of it — and any expenses incurred for travel and membership in civic and professional organizations.
- Lorenzo Garcia of El Paso receives the highest monthly communications allowance for his cellphone, home internet and other technology, at $1,000. His counterparts in Fort Bend, Dallas and Houston receive between $350 and $800 per month each for the same benefits.
- Almost all of the districts — 10 of 14 — pay some form of monthly automobile allowance. That ranges from $500 per month in San Antonio’s Northeast to $800 in Cypress Fairbanks to $1,200 per month in the state’s largest district, Houston ISD. El Paso’s chief gets no automobile allowance, but a $2,000-per-month stipend for travel expenses.
- One superintendent, Carrol Thomas of Beaumont, receives an automatic raise — 3.9 percent — each year upon favorable review by the school board. In Austin ISD, Meria Carstarphen receives whatever annual salary increase other administrators get. In Alief, H.D. Chambers receives the same increase that teachers receive, at the board’s discretion.
- Superintendents in many districts can also earn incentives and performance bonuses for longevity and other objective measures. In Cy-Fair, chief David Anthony earned a $50,000 bonus when he agreed to stay on past June 30, 2010. (He announced his resignation at the end of this school year.) El Paso’s Garcia stands to gain an annual $18,000 if his students achieve certain scores on their TAKS exams.
Here is the breakdown of the highest paid superintendent and the largest Texas school districts.
Highest-Paid Superintendents (base salary)
1. Beaumont ISD
2. Alief ISD
3. Dallas ISD
4. Fort Worth ISD
5. Spring Branch ISD
6. Houston ISD
7. North East ISD
8. Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
9. Plano ISD
10. Austin ISD
Largest Districts (based on overall student enrollment)
1. Houston ISD
2. Dallas ISD
3. Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
4. Northside ISD
5. Austin ISD
6. Fort Worth ISD
7. Fort Bend ISD
8. North East ISD
9. Arlington ISD
10. El Paso ISD
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://trib.it/g2Wm3v.
