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Katy Citizen Watchdog$ |
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We’re Taxpayers. It’s Our Money. |
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You’re Right Ms. Handley, The Public Shouldn’t Be Misled/A Commentary |
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Back To “Watchdog Archives (“In The News”)”
NOTE TO THE READER: The following commentary appeared in the April 11, 2006 Katy Courier.
We agree Ms. Handley that the people of Katy shouldn’t be misled as to the upcoming bond election. As Co-Founder of the Katy Citizen Watchdog$ (“KCW”), I thought I would take a few moments and respond to the allegations of Ms. Susan Handley who is the Treasurer of the group, Keep Investing in District Schools (“KIDS”). Unfortunately, Ms. Handley is very misinformed as to who the Watchdog$ are. KCW (www.katycitizens.org) is not affiliated with “Katy Zero Tolerance.” We never have been. Up until the spring of last year, the other co-founder and I had never been a part of KISD politics. I therefore cannot comment on any of Ms. Handley’s allegations concerning the bond election of 2002 since I was not involved in the process until recently.
For the record, KCW is a grassroots organization of parents, taxpayers and teachers that are very concerned about the current state of academics and the current financial environment in this district. It concerned me greatly that both Ms. Handley and her children find Mr. A.D. Muller’s comments so humorous. I personally don’t think that there is anything funny about the financial crisis that is currently facing this school district. It’s also very disturbing to realize that there are people in this community that still want to give this administration another “blank check” to the tune of $261.5 million dollars. Since becoming a Watchdog I haven’t seen anything but a continuing policy of fiscal irresponsibility being shown by this administration. Everyone in this community works hard for the tax dollars that we give to this district, and I find the way in which the taxpayers of this community are treated by this Board and our Superintendent to be offensive.
This is the same administration that has shackled us with a $1.5 BILLION dollar bond debt and a projected $20 MILLION dollar deficit for the 2005/2006 school year budget. Let’s also be cognizant of the fact that our Fund Balance (aka “Rainy Day Fund”) only represents around 11% of our current expenditures. If the projected $20 million dollar deficit turns out to be a reality, then the district will have to reduce that fund by over 50% in order to make ends meet. The Watchdog$ do not believe that we can continue down a path of an unchecked policy of “borrow and spend” coupled with continued budget deficits. The fact is that if the spending habits of this administration continue unchecked then the district will go bankrupt.
So let me specifically address some of the matters referred to by Ms. Handley in her piece entitled “Public Should Not Be Misled In KISD May Bond Election.”
According to information provided to us by the district, there were some 60 plus individuals that were named to the 2006 Bond Committee. Members from KCW attended most of the meetings. It is interesting to note that out of the 60 plus individuals at no time did all the Committee members attend a single meeting. It should also be pointed out that over a quarter of those 2006 Bond Committee members were part of prior bond committees. And Ms. Handley, don’t try and mislead the public by insinuating that the district is impartial when it comes to wanting bond money. The district knew exactly who they wanted to serve on this Committee because the outcome was never going to be in doubt.
Ms. Handley, I unfortunately have to take exception to your “conflict of interest” comments. You are correct that there is nothing legally that prevents any group, company, organization or individual from giving money to KIDS, or CAPS for that matter. But I do find it disturbing that KIDS officers were still managing a PAC that had been funded by companies that stand to gain the most from passage of the bond. Whether there was any influence peddling or not, I don’t feel that any officer of KIDS should have agreed to serve on the 2006 Bond Committee. Ms. Handley, when you were offered the position on the 2006 Bond Committee did you give full disclosure to both the district and the Committee that you were serving as Treasurer of KIDS? Face it, your largest contributors do a lion’s share of work for the district. The contributors to CAPS aren’t being given sizable business contracts in the district.
Ms. Handley wants you to believe that the Watchdog$ and its members are against KISD. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Contrary to what you may believe, our members have or had children attend these schools and we all want the very best for our children. If we didn’t believe this then we wouldn’t be trying to change things. The most important assets we have in our district are our kids and the teachers that work with them every single day. Our group wants more money in the classrooms. A quality education is not about extravagant construction and technology expenses. Those aren’t the things that are going to secure our children’s future.
I have grown weary of the continuing effort to try and discredit the Watchdog$. Everyone needs to be concerned about what is going on in this school district. Up until the Watchdog organization there was no organized alternative voice in our community. We have worked very hard to get the word out about what is really going on in KISD. Ms. Handley, we’re not against the teachers or children of Katy, so don’t make it out like we are. What we are against is the continued arrogance of an out of control administration that could care less about what is really going on in this district. As I have said in the past, our group doesn’t mind paying the “freight”, we, as parents, taxpayers and teachers, just want some real representation to go along with our taxation.
Christopher E. Cottrell Co-Founder/Katy Citizen Watchdog$
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Chris Cottrell, Katy Citizen Watchdog$ |
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Date: 04/11/2006 |
