|
Katy Citizen Watchdog$ |
|
We’re Taxpayers. It’s Our Money. |
|
A Note To Trustee Crockett: Please Don’t Be A Bobble Head |
|
By replacing a resigning Jackie Birkel with former part-time KISD employee Christina Crockett, the Board did a disservice to the taxpayers of KISD. (And they wasted little time tearing down Birkel's bio and nailing up Chrockett's.) Is it because Crockett’s not qualified? Heck no! I have yet to meet with Christina but I have corresponded with her numerous times when requesting open records and have found her to have a good sense of humor and strong ethical concerns. Her record while an employee of the district, from what I have heard, has been nothing but positive. She is a lawyer and while most will sneer when I say this, it’s my belief that a lawyer should be on the Board to understand legal issues arising from the district’s operations. Her commitment to the district and our community is beyond reproach and speaks volumes to her character. She is a long time resident and, from reading her bio, seems to have traveled the world a bit which only increases her value to the community. I’m guessing she is a native Texan simply because she went to the University of St. Thomas here in Houston and UH Law Center, which would be a good thing if it turns out to be true. If she was a new candidate and I had to look at her many accomplishments I would consider her a strong option. So, it’s not Ms. Crockett’s fault I oppose her appointment. The Board had three options when Birkel resigned: Hold a special election – If Birkel had resigned with a year left in her term, this would have been the right option but with the term expiring in less than six months, this option should not have been used. Leave the position open – If this were a divisive Board with a lot of 4-3 votes then no, leaving the position open would not have been a choice at all. However, with the exception of Tom Law’s occasional no-vote, this is not a controversial Board but rather working as a “Team of Eight.” This board should have left the position open until it was to be filled through the May election. Appoint someone – This is what they did. The Watchdog$ threw up our nomination of Kevin Tatum, Co-Founder of the Dogs and a strong volunteer in the community and KISD, as a potential appointee. Of course his name was brought up and that was about it, I guess. I approved of our group’s support for Kevin and I hope he decides to run for the Board sometime in the future for he'd make one heck of a leader, but my first pick would have been someone from the community who would fill in for the remainder of the term and then exit after the people had chosen a non-incumbent candidate to fill the position. Mrs. Crockett fits that bill except for one thing… It was reported in the Houston Chronicle that she intends to run for reelection. This whole process smacks of more good old boy manipulation of our educational system. She now has the power of incumbency and as I have proven as well as other well-intentioned persons seeking election to the Board as challengers, that is a very difficult obstacle to overcome. Now the problems I have with a Crockett campaign. I view her as an insider. She has worked with the district for a little over a year, hired by Leonard Merrell when there was a screw-up in fulfilling an open records request made by one of the Watchdog$. She did a great job in that function but, and I repeat but, she was gainfully employed by the district until she resigned the same day she was sworn in as a Board member. She now is an incumbent even though none of us had the opportunity to vote for her. She is a proud member of the “Team of Eight.” I’ve always hated this term because the eighth member is the Superintendent. He is an employee of the Board and not a member of the Board, though he sits in the middle of the Board as if he were. The Board should be individual members representing the best interests of the taxpayers. Decisions aren’t supposed to be made as a team. As Watchdog$, we have publicly hailed Alton Frailey as a breath of fresh air. He is 180 degrees from the past guy and he is making positive changes already. For example, he is conducting an audit of the district – not just financial but employee as well – and this shows us that he realizes that this district can no longer be run with the same business as usual as in the past. There have been some signs of some change in this Board as there have been a few more no votes from other members than Tom Law and maybe they are now feeling a little freedom from the overbearing thumb that it appeared the past superintendent held over them. But again, this is the problem: The Board is designed to be an independent function above the district management that has fiduciary and educational responsibilities to us, the taxpayers and parents, not to a superintendent who they currently see as one of their teammates. Mrs. Crockett's appointment should have been made with one stipulation: Promise to not run for reelection. Again, this stinks of the dysfunctional business as usual this Board has consistently spewed out of their silent mouths. Mrs. Crockett is starting at ground zero. She has done nothing to earn any of our scorn and, as of right now, she has my vote in May as long as she proves to be truly independent and not subservient to the negative culture that Leonard Merrell espoused and continues to linger on this Board. If she seems to be just another bobble head to the good old boys still on this Board then hopefully she will only serve as a short, one timer. © 2008 by Fred Hink. All rights reserved.
|
|
Fred Hink, Katy Citizen Watchdog$ |
|
Date: 02/08/2008 |
