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Katy Citizen Watchdog$ |
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We’re Taxpayers. It’s Our Money. |
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The Watchdog$ Respond To The Frailey Interview |
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Dear Editor:
The Watchdog$ read with great interest the Sun’s recent interview with KISD Superintendent Alton Frailey. We found some of Superintendent Frailey’s answers/comments most enlightening and we greatly appreciate the opportunity to present an opposing viewpoint as to some of the issues he raised.
Superintendent Frailey is quoted as saying: “There's one point that remains, and there has been – and I am reluctant to do it, but the reality is that there has been a growing element nationwide that has surfaced in Katy that's a very toxic, negative, cynical attitude. But within that one point, I'm glad to see the pushback from the quality citizens who truly, truly care about their community. And there is no political agenda that motivates these parents, these patrons. These folks are motivated by the ideals of our country and the role education plays in it. And they understand the risk, the real threat to our community, if we don't inoculate ourselves against the viruses of politically motivated evil. It's a small degree, but it doesn't take much poison to impact the environment. And I'm pleased to see the community stepping up again to address that.”
We certainly hope that Superintendent Frailey does not consider the Katy Citizen Watchdog$, Americans For Prosperity, or the many other government watchdog groups across this nation, as the parties that he perceives as bringing a “very toxic,” “negative” and “cynical” attitude to our community, state and nation. If you will recall, a recent district audit report from Deloitte & Touch described watchdog organizations as a “threat” to the district. Conservative watchdog groups that believe in government transparency and accountability are the NOT the enemy. Our conservative beliefs are the real ideals that founded this country. The threat to our society comes from those that believe that dissent should not be allowed. As Thomas Jefferson once said, “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.”
While we have indeed been critical of the district on occasion, we do not object to everything the district does. The Katy Dogs have dished out praise to the district when warranted, but we also believe that our Trustees and Superintendent need to be constantly reminded that they report to us; that we, the taxpayers, are the “boss” of this district.
Our “pushback” comes from our strong belief that government should be answerable to those that pay the bills. It is the people that government should fear; not the other way around. The “pushback” we receive from our critics is based on a very misguided belief that government is ALWAYS right and that it’s the people that should fear government. That attitude is what is “toxic” to our community, state and nation. As Americans we have a duty to keep an ever watchful eye on government because without supervision government has a very poor track record of being responsible.
What we need to “inoculate” ourselves from is the evil of liberalism that is slowly infecting all levels of government. We’re quite certain that if asked, our Trustees and Superintendent would tell you that they do not consider themselves to be liberals, but the fact is they all (with the exception of Trustee Law) continue to support a liberal fiscal policy of tax, borrow and spend. The fact is that had the district not realized some revenue windfalls our Trustees and Superintendent would have approved, yet another, deficit budget, and they would have proposed a $0.03 tax increase to offset their spending addiction. This continued liberal fiscal policy is the true “virus.” This is the “virus” that is taxing people out of their homes and straining small business; not just in Katy but all across this state and nation.
Superintendent Frailey is quoted as saying: “And I'm trying to stand for the values of this community, which I think you will find is what helped create this country. We are a country based on an ideal, an idea. And it’s manifested in the words of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. And public schools, one of their responsibilities, is to help promote democracy and I accept that wholeheartedly.”
While Superintendent Frailey speaks about upholding the ideal of democracy in our schools, he also supported an effort to limit taxpayer access to public records which is something we believe should cause this community great concern. We see his attempt to limit our access to how OUR money is being spent as yet another attempt by government to dim the light of accountability, openness and transparency. Superintendent Frailey was wise to back down from his support of such a measure, but rest assured his reluctance to follow through was, in our opinion, caused by the firestorm generated by the Katy Dogs and the press that resulted from his position. We are not sure that limiting taxpayer access to public records is really a reflection of the “values of this community”. The Founding Fathers never intended for government to become what it has become today. As Ronald Reagan once said, “Man is not free unless government is limited – as government expands, liberty contracts.”
Superintendent Frailey is quoted as saying: “The thing is we all want to get what we can at a fair price, the best we can at a fair price. And I appreciate that. We're also willing to pay a little extra for something we really, really want. And I think the flap over school funding is more symptomatic of folks not being as satisfied as we historically thought they were or wanted them to be. And so the responsibility of public schools I think is: Yes, we'll talk about the challenges of the school finance system, but we also need to remember the fact that we're created by the community to maintain and perpetuate our community and the ideals of our country. And I think when we do that, we'll find people more and more willing to step up and support public education.”
The Watchdog$ would like to remind Superintendent Frailey that “wanting” and “needing” are two very different things. As Mick Jagger sang once: “You don’t always get want you want; but if you try sometime you just might find you get what you need.”
The community needs to understand that life is not always fair and equitable and that one simply can’t have everything they want without sacrifice and consequences. The taxpayers of this district should unite to demand that this district balance its budget, itemize all bond initiatives, and not support any tax increase to offset deficit spending. Governments should fund only what is needed and resist the urge to take everything they want.
Superintendent Frailey is quoted as saying: “And for many parents, if they look back at their days in school, they themselves may have learned differently. They may have performed better in some instances than in other instances. My daughter says “Dad, if I could play my iPod in school I'd do well on tests.” Homework she does perfect, but on tests, she says “my mind wanders.” So could we make a concession for her? I wish we could on the SAT. (chuckles)”
The Watchdog$ couldn’t agree more that all kids have strengths and weaknesses and that while one child may be an “A” student in Math, that same student may only be a “C” student in Science. The Watchdog$ have never supported the current standardized testing required by the state. We don’t believe that TAKS accurately reflects student knowledge or achievement. The worst thing about TAKS is that our teachers are spending inordinate amounts of time teaching to the TAKS exam. So is teaching to the TAKS helping public education in this state? Hardly; in fact, it’s being reported that half of all Texas college freshman are being required to take some kind of remedial math and/or English course. We believe the Texas Education Agency has certainly not helped the situation by continually lowering the standards so more schools can measure up and receive a higher ranking than they probably deserve. Fortunately, our legislature has recently appointed a state task force to begin studying the state’s education accountability system.
We realize that curriculum and standardized testing is governed by the state, but what Superintendent Frailey didn’t mention is that for the first time in this nation’s history other countries are outperforming our students in mathematics and science. America no longer graduates more engineers than the rest of the world. What exactly does this say about how we are doing educating our children? The Watchdog$ find this trend very disturbing to say the least.
Superintendent Frailey is quoted as saying: “I think the big challenge for the district is that we must have confidence that we're pretty good. Not an arrogance, but a confidence that we're pretty good and we're up to the task that is before us. And we need to articulate that better than I think we do. There are folks who are trying to redefine the district. In the past, we've just kind of thought, “well, folks know us.” Well, people are moving in all the time. Everyone doesn't know us any more. We've got to re-establish our definition of what we are in this community.” What we would tell Superintendent Frailey is that this district needs to do a much better job communicating with the community. The perception to many in our community is that the district and our Board have a very bad habit of ignoring anyone that may have a legitimate concern or a differing opinion. Is it proper for district employees to attack taxpayers publicly? Is it proper for district employees to be involved in local politics/campaigns on the public’s dime? Face it, to many of us district and Board business is carried out in what is perceived as a shadowy manner. The “smoke and mirrors” game coupled with the spin has grown tiresome and alarming.
Christopher E. Cottrell Co-Founder/Katy Citizen Watchdog$
© 2008 by Chris Cottrell. All rights reserved. |
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Chris Cottrell, Katy Citizen Watchdog$ |
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Date: 09/08/2008 |
