Budget, tax rate among issues at LISD debate

LEWISVILLE -- About 80 residents attended a debate Thursday for the Lewisville ISD Board of Trustees candidates, hosted by the Carrollton Tea Party. The board election is May 14.

In Place 6, incumbent Amber Fulton of The Colony is running against Highland Village resident Mike McDaniel, who served on the board from 1998 to 2004.

In Place 7, incumbent Carol Kyer of Flower Mound is running against Reginald Johnson of Lewisville.

Each candidate began with opening remarks, followed by a chance to answer pre-written questions. The event concluded with closing remarks.

Below are some of the questions asked, as well as a summary of each candidates’ responses:

What are some ways to significantly cut the budget without it affecting the classroom?

Fulton said the best way is to create a long-term plan with goal setting. “That will give us a measuring stick that we can use when we’re facing budget cuts. Because right now, we’re in a situation where we kind of piecemeal some budget cuts. I think with a broader and better idea of where we’re headed as a district, one of the values we’ll establish is protection of the classroom, instruction and the quality of education that we’re so proud of here in the district.”

McDaniel said everything has to be looked at, including the amount of money spent by school board members themselves.

“During their last conference, they stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel. How many of you stay at the Four Seasons Hotel when you go somewhere? You don’t. The two incumbents up here are about to spend a week and a half in San Francisco for a convention that will cost LISD $2,000 to $3,000 apiece. Right now, we need to have that money going toward the classroom.” He followed by saying that with larger class sizes on the horizon, that stresses the importance of training teachers better.

Friday, Fulton contacted The Leader and said she expects the trip, which is for the National School Board Association conference on education, to cost less than $2,000 per member based on the hotel rate and cost of the plane ticket. She added Dr. Stephen Waddell and board member Jeff Knapp are also going on the trip, that the trip is important for continuing education purposes and that the district is assigned a hotel at a conference rate and doesn’t select the hotel on its own.

Kyer said a lot of districts in the area are giving pink slips to probationary teachers but noted LISD’s recent decision to offer an early-resignation program in hopes to saving money on salary. “It’s best if we have a plan, and we’re building on that plan right now. Once the legislature is finished and we figure out how much money we’re going to need, we’ll have some major decisions to make. So it’s best to stay away from the classroom because it’s important that the kids’ education continues to improve and doesn’t go backward.” While answering another question later, Kyer addressed McDaniel’s claim about the conference, saying that McDaniel, too, stayed in a nice hotel during a conference when he was on the board.

Johnson said one idea is to examine the use of certain allocated funds, such as car allowances, to see if they’re being put to the best use. “Instead of giving employees car allowances up front, why not reimburse them for what they did? So you’re not giving a teacher or administrator $700 a month for a car allowance if they’re only driving $300 a month. Has that happened in LISD? I’m not sure, but let’s look at it.”

With the residents speaking against the tax referendum, would you go to the state and ask them to pass a bill to thwart the residents’ vote?

McDaniel referenced a trip to Austin earlier this year by Fulton and Kyer to discuss legislative priorities, one of which was a suggestion to give local school districts the ability to raise the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) tax rate to $1.17 without an election. It can be raised to $1.04 without an election currently. “We’ve got two board members up here who are saying, ‘The people don’t know what they’re talking about. We’re going to go to Austin and lobby the legislature to give us the power to tax without a vote.’ What is wrong with the people deciding when they want to pay more money for the schools?”

Kyer said the issue is about local control, something she has talked to representatives from other districts about that would benefit all districts. “We want local control. We want to be able to figure out our calendar. We want to have that opportunity, which is what we had in the past, but it was changed over the last few years. Until the TRE (tax ratification election) came around, we did decide. And if you didn’t like the way we were raising or lowering taxes, you voted the person off the board.”

Johnson said he believes the role of a trustee is to be a bridge between the community and the school district. “I need to meet with you, and I need to hear what you’re saying. There will be times when a difficult decision needs to be made and we have opposing views. But not if (the ability to raise the tax rate without an election) is not what the residents want, then I don’t think that’s what the trustees need to be doing.”

Fulton said there may be some misunderstanding as to what she was requesting from legislators. “What we asked for is the flexibility in this unprecedented funding crisis. We said, ‘If there is anything you can do to relax any restrictions to school districts that are not going to cost you (the state) any money and not going to cost us (the district) any money, please do that. Even if it’s for a very short period of time, for two years or four years, we will accept that.” So I suppose you could say that the tax rate is a restriction that’s imposed on us, and I suppose you could say we were arguing in favor of that. We only broached that subject with one legislator, and we were asking for short-term flexibility, even if you have to put it back at the old way when you’re done. Because it’s going to take all of us in partnership to get through this funding crisis.”

Do you have a problem with the ratio of teacher/non-teacher staff, and if so, how should that be changed?

Fulton said the current staff is a reflection of the academic success LISD students have had and that teacher support staff is important in that success. “I would trust our new superintendent as he is making evaluations to our staff ratios and what those numbers should be in order to make a recommendation on how to support our current teaching staff under the current financial situation that we are in.” Fulton said that with 85 percent of the budget going to salary and benefits, it’s a reality that positions may have to be eliminated.

McDaniel said LISD has a ratio of 49 percent teachers to 51 percent including bus drivers, custodians, teacher aides, cafeteria workers, etc. “Those are the people who allow the teachers to be able to teach. So as a staffing ratio, I don’t see a huge problem with that. But the model that we’ve been following for years is about to change. We’re going to have to look to technology and do more in the classroom. Bricks and mortar won’t be as important as they were. We have to embrace this technology, and that will help offset the ratio that we’re so worried about.”

Kyer said the phrase “non-teaching staff” must first be defined. “Realistically everyone who is involved in the school is involved in the teaching of the child because they’re there to prepare the school, they’re there to feed the students. So how do you categorize it? That’s something that needs to be evaluated and discussed. Everybody employed by the district has something to do with teaching.”

Johnson said the district needs to take a close look at all positions within the district and how it fits in to what is done each day, starting with the administrators. “Do I think it’s a problem? Yes. But we need to be clear what the problem is. For years, we’ve been state funded. Now we’re state supported. If we’re not careful, in the future we’re just going to be state located. We need to look from the top to the bottom and get creative with ideas.

Do you support the decision to split Lewisville High School into two 9th/10th-grade campuses?

Kyer voted for the 9th/10th-grade concept last week. “It’s what we need to do for that zone. It will be a success, and all of the other high schools in our district will want it.”

Johnson said he does not support it but would work with the district to make it work. “There are other options that we could have looked at. I liked the possibility of having a magnet school or a technology center at the new campus (on FM 3040).”

Fulton also voted for the two-campus concept. She agreed that the information on this plan could have included more people’s input and been brought out sooner. “I don’t see this as a division as much as an opportunity to create a more fertile learning environment for our 10th-graders.”

McDaniel said the plan will split the Lewisville community, that it will cost taxpayers more money to operate the two campuses and that Lewisville residents weren’t involved in the process. “This was forced onto Lewisville, and not one of the people in those groups was from Lewisville. But for three years, we’ve been shoving this down their throats while saying, ‘This is good, people. We know. We’re on the board.’”

LISD candidates will debate three more times, beginning with April 7 with the Denton County Republican Club at the Lewisville Chamber of Commerce. On April 19, there will be a debate hosted by the Castle Hills HOA. On April 28, the Council of PTAs will host a forum.

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