Yesterday TEA challenged Fox News for repeatedly broadcasting highly inaccurate information and rightly so.  Today Fox News is backtracking from yesterday’s highly spiced up news cast but continues to miss many points and focus on sensational topics instead. 

The bond list is growing…..updated 9:52am

The SBOE meeting today will begin what some are calling the newest version of “culture wars” in Texas.  I will wait and see; today I am addressing yesterday’s meeting of the Committee on School Finance/Permanent School Fund.   Lone Finalist members, click on ‘View Article’ to access this commentary.  Past commentaries, links and charts are on The Lone Finalist.  To join, contact Vickie@texasisd.com, call 936-622-3411 or sign up online (click on The Lone Finalist tile in the left blue margin).

Also, we have several new bond referendums to add to our list.  Bond List Updated 1:54pm

Today I am sharing my “starting point list” of districts calling bond referendums.  We rely heavily on news articles and readers in the development of this list.  If you are aware of a district having one on May 8 that we have failed to list – or see one that should be removed - please email webmaster@texasisd.com.  We will then contact that district for confirmation.  It is often difficult to find electronic news regarding the smaller districts, so your help is crucial. 

Great Opportunities: At the end of January our Superintendent Vacancy List had 56 vacancies posted.  Today the list has 65 Texas school districts with vacancies, plus the Director of ESC 13, as well as a vacancy in Baldwin County Schools in Alabama.  Lone Finalist members, click on ‘View Article’ to access this commentary.  Past commentaries, links and charts are on The Lone Finalist.  To join, contact Vickie@texasisd.com, call 936-622-3411 or sign up online (click on The Lone Finalist tile in the left blue margin).

Who is George M. Clayton?  He is a virtual unknown who defeated long time State Board member Geraldine Miller on Tuesday, creating the biggest surprise of the election.  According to the Tribune article on the race, “…Clayton only spent $1,788 on the race compared to Miller’s $54,685”.  Lone Finalist members, click on ‘View Article’ to access this commentary.  Past commentaries, links and charts are on The Lone Finalist.  To join, contact Vickie@texasisd.com, call 936-622-3411 or sign up online (click on The Lone Finalist tile in the left blue margin).

Administrators are very concerned about the mounting evidence indicating that the next few years will contain some difficult, if not impossible, financial situations.  One of these is the announcement by TRS for an increase of 7% in health insurance premiums without the possibility of additional state assistance.   Lone Finalist members, click on ‘View Article’ to access this commentary.  Past commentaries, links and charts are on The Lone Finalist.  To join, contact Vickie@texasisd.com, call 936-622-3411 or sign up online (click on The Lone Finalist tile in the left blue margin).

Repost from yesterday:  Provisions of HB 3 required the Comptroller’s office to study public education.  – Specifically, to develop the methods and procedures to compare school districts and campuses by integrating academic performance data and financial data and then report findings to the Legislature in 2011.

Lone Finalist members, click on ‘View Article’ to access this commentary.  Past commentaries, links and charts are on The Lone Finalist.  To join, contact Vickie@texasisd.com, call 936-622-3411 or sign up online (click on The Lone Finalist tile in the left blue margin).

I listened to this committee meeting held on February 22, related to the 81^st Senate Interim Charges to the 81^st legislature – I am suggesting you listen as well but first read my commentary. Lone Finalist members, click on ‘View Article’ to access this commentary.  Past commentaries, links and charts are on The Lone Finalist.  To join, contact Vickie@texasisd.com, call 936-622-3411 or sign up online (click on The Lone Finalist tile in the left blue margin).

When reviewing your 9/10 templates it is always important to check student data.  However, you should also check the CPTAD value and your tax collections compared to the numbers used for your budget.  Lone Finalist members, click on ‘View Article’ to access this commentary.  Past commentaries, links and charts are on The Lone Finalist.  To join, contact Vickie@texasisd.com, call 936-622-3411 or sign up online (click on The Lone Finalist tile in the left blue margin).

·         We have now started our Bond Referendum List for the May Uniform Election Date – If you are planning a referendum or know of a district that is, please send us an email. We will gather the needed information from the school districts.  Lone Finalist members, click on ‘View Article’ to access this commentary.  Past commentaries, links and charts are on The Lone Finalist.  To join, contact Vickie@texasisd.com, call 936-622-3411 or sign up online (click on The Lone Finalist tile in the left blue margin).

·         See you at TASBO today! We are in booth 816 with the JR3 group.  Stop by and introduce yourself if we’ve not met; others, be sure to come and say hello

·         We have now started our Bond Referendum List for the May Uniform Election Date – If you are planning a referendum or know of a district that is, please send us an email. We will gather the needed information from the school districts.

School district bond referendums go before voters in Texas in May and November each year.  The last date for a school board to call for a referendum for the May 8, 2010 election is March 9. The data from past years shows a decline in the percent of issues passed, likely due to the recession along with the withdrawal of Bond Guarantee Program in March of 09.

·         Leaving for TASBO today! We will be in booth 816 with the JR3 group.  Stop by and introduce yourself if we’ve not met; Others, be sure to come and say hello

·         We have now started our Bond Referendum List for the May Uniform Election Date – If you are planning a referendum or know of a district that is, please send us an email. We will gather the needed information from the school districts.  Lone Finalist members, click on ‘View Article’ to access this commentary.  Past commentaries, links and charts are on The Lone Finalist.  To join, contact Vickie@texasisd.com, call 936-622-3411 or sign up online (click on The Lone Finalist tile in the left blue margin).

I am declaring the Tax Rate List finished.  Of course, I will make and note corrections as we become aware of them.    Due to a large number of requests for the HB 3646 Target Revenue numbers and the fact that knowing this is helpful  to school districts attempting to share with stakeholders about inequity of local school funding  and local taxpayer’s effort, I am posting the excel file for everyone.  (Link to excel file of Tax Rates and HB 3646 Target Revenue in article) 

·         Leaving for TASBO tomorrow after posting Texasisd.com, we will be in booth 816 with the JR3 group.  Stop by and introduce yourself if We’ve not met; others, be sure to come hello.

·         We have now started our Bond Referendum List for the May Uniform Election Date – If you are planning a referendum or know of a district that is, please send us an email. We will gather the needed information from the school districts. 

Lone Finalist members, click on ‘View Article’ to access this commentary.  Past commentaries, links and charts are on The Lone Finalist.  To join, contact Vickie@texasisd.com, call 936-622-3411 or sign up online (click on The Lone Finalist tile in the left blue margin).

(No commentary today.)  Josh is in Austin and we are working remotely because of the ice on the roads at 5 AM.  The weather is certainly the big news in Texas.    It could be the most snow ever in some areas.  It is beautiful out my office window in Lufkin.   Most area schools are either closed or starting late today.

The longevity of Texas public school superintendents is an interesting study undertaken by many students in their attempts to understand what causes superintendents to relocate and to determine how often they move.  Studies show that superintendent tenure has remained relatively static over the past 30 years.  The following observations from my TexasISD superintendent vacancy listings for the past three years support this conclusion.  Lone Finalist members, click on ‘View Article’ to access this commentary.  Past commentaries, links and charts are on The Lone Finalist.  To join, contact Vickie@texasisd.com, call 936-622-3411 or sign up online (click on The Lone Finalist tile in the left blue margin).

(First thing today is that I fouled up the link to the draft tax rate list yesterday.  It is now fixed.  We will continue to post the list for a few more days in order to give everyone time to confirm that we have your rate correctly listed.  Please advise us if there is a discrepancy.  There were no changes yesterday; I appreciate the emails of affirmation sent by several superintendents and business managers.) 

In the past few months I have noticed a lot of trucks and drilling rigs scattered around the ESC 7 Region. I have learned that some of these wells are very productive and that gave rise to yesterday's meeting, planned by forward thinking area superintendents.

The review of tax rates for 2009 illustrates steady movement toward another situation where a majority of the districts are at the cap.  The actual M&O cap is $1.17.  However, the election barrier at $1.04 appears to me to be the actual cap in districts that believe they cannot have a successful TRE.  (I repaired the link at 4:00pm)

I viewed Commissioner Robert Scott’s address to the Mid-Winter Conference again at 5:00 AM this morning when I was very alert and void of any distractions.  I think it was his best performance to date.  The speech contained information school folks needed to know about current issues, gave an update on his reasons for denying Race to the Top Funds and gave an optimistic and complimentary assessment of the state of public education in Texas.  This speech conveys Commissioner Scott’s vision for the future of Texas Public Schools – A vision that includes more local control and he asked for our input in rewriting our administrative rules.

My article “To protest or not to protest” related to the impact of the CPTAD (Comptroller Property Tax Assistance Division) Property Value Study (PVS) on school funding drew reader comments which I am including by updating yesterday’s article.  I added a total loss figure in the chart and included comments, as suggested, related to tax effort and related to the increase impact of PVS when the state returns to formula funding.  Lone Finalist members, click on ‘View Article’ to access this commentary.  Past commentaries, links and charts are on The Lone Finalist.  To join, contact Vickie@texasisd.com, call 936-622-3411 or sign up online (click on The Lone Finalist tile in the left blue margin).

The PVS (Property Value Study) is conducted annually by the State Comptroller with the stated purpose of estimating a school district’s taxable property value and to measure the county appraisal district’s performance.  The Comptroller publishes “The Property Value Study and How to Protest”  at the same time the study is released at the end of January each year.  The CPTA value is the first non-estimated number a district receives for use in projecting revenue for the 10/11 school year.  All folks new to school finance should review their study and read the protest document as it contains definitions and explanations for various components that are important to school districts.