Wednesday, April 27, 2011

PISD Out of Control Spending

I have been in shock for a week after the Plano ISD Board of Trustees voted to saddle the district with a White Elephant. It has been a bad week in Plano. A young lady who worked at the Gleneagles Country Club was kidnapped and murdered. It has been a terrible week. 

And it is a terrible thought to realize that our Board of Trustees excels in spending money, not in educating our children. If you double-click on the embedded image, you can see it full size. You will see that Plano spends more per student than our neighbors, who have better test results. You will also see we pay more to our superintendent than the other districts. 

I have come to realize that the Old Guard on the school board must excel in what they value: spending money. This is why they felt compelled to buy an office building that has sat empty for years, even though they have no real plans for the building. They do not have a firm plan for the Academy, but they buy a building anyway. The administration had the audacity during the board meeting to suggest this building is essentially free: the bond money was "left over" money from a previous bond issue, and the operational expenses will rain down from rich donors. 

Carrolyn Moebius and Marilyn Hinton were a disappointment. When they were elected I thought they would make a difference, but they joined the Old Guard in rubber stamping the administration's spending plan. Marilyn Hinton explained that she placed her trust in the administration, which is what a rubber stamp does. Their failure on the board makes it imperative we make the right choice for Place 4.

It is unfortunate we do not have a good candidate for the Place 4 position.

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