Tuesday, December 13, 2005

School Board Business

The School Board meeting yesterday (Dec. 12th) was interesting. There was a lot of ground to cover. There were a number of reports that were presented, but not covered in depth, which is a good thing. For example, one report on the Academic Excellence Indicator System is 296 pages long. (Can be found by searching here on the TEA site if you are interested.) They also covered the calendar for next year, and boundry changes which were proposed to improve safety of school routes. This information is available on the districts website at SAISD.org.

During one of the breaks I talked to Mr. Layman. He was disappointed in the controversy about the meetings, as he felt that the board was more open and forthcoming with information than in the past. With the amount of information and discussion required for this meeting it is easy to see how having two sessions to cover the material would be a plus. He also reassured me that minutes were being kept for all the meetings, and the public is invited to all the meetings, including the workshops, except for executive sessions. He also stated that they would probably review the current procedures after everyone has completed mandatory Open Meetings and Public Records training early next year.

Hopefully we can now concentrate on the important issues affecting local schools such as academic performance, facilities and upgrades, taxes, and bond issues.

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