Challenge to School Board Members
School board members, we want to work with you and not against you to close the loophole in CISD board policy that allows gross misuse of public and state funds. We have documented these expenditures in previous columns, and have posted the actual documents on the internet at http://www.cleburnepolitics.com
As taxpayers we are asking you to take an unpopular stance and instruct the superintendent that these types of wasteful expenses will no longer be tolerated in the Cleburne Independent School District. The taxpayers are your boss. You are his boss and not vice versa.
Remember, it’s called a School Board meeting and not a Superintendents Board meeting. The elected members of the School Board are there to defend the Taxpayers position first and not the superintendent’s position. The school board is supposed to be a check and balance against the school administration, not a rubber stamp.
I concur with other education reformers like Peyton Wolcott (www.peytonwolcott.com) that the superintendent should not set on the dais with the Board but at a table, on the floor with the other administrators. We do not find this disrespectful because he still can offer input and answer questions from the Board if needed. This allows the Board to function as it should, as a government body that represents the taxpayers as a whole, without undue influence from the superintendent.
When the Board goes into executive session, the superintendent should not be present unless called upon by the Board president to present his opinion or answer questions. Upon completing the task requested, he should leave the session and wait with the public for the school board to finish. In this way he cannot influence the decision of the Board, which should represent the community first. The word community is defined as those both Pro and Con, not just your friends, co-workers, family or church members but all the taxpayers of Cleburne.
As it is now, the superintendent sits on the dais front and center next to the School Board president and attends all executive sessions. The board is never alone to conduct its business or investigations.
We also suggest that the School Board consider setting new board policy that will not allow board members to serve consecutive terms in office. We believe that the expense problems we have had in the past resulted from some members being allowed to serve three three-year terms (9 years) in a row. Board members should be allowed to serve only one three-year term and then be required to sit out one three-year term before running for that office again. This will insure that the board has a natural tension between members and the superintendent and prevent the perpetuation of the buddy system.
When a superintendent becomes one of the team with his bosses, the school board trustees, then accountability is lost. The system of Checks and Balances has been destroyed, and the Superintendent and Board function as one entity. This is like the Congressional lawmakers and the Supreme Court Judges being in the same department. Imagine what condition our country would be in if there was no appeal to the Supreme Court for unconstitutional laws passed by the legislature.
To carry this analogy one step further, in a manufacturing company, Production’s job is to ship out as much product as possible. Quality Control’s job is to make sure that Production puts out a quality product and doesn’t take shortcuts. It is a disaster when the Production manager signs the paychecks to the Quality Control department.
In CISD we have the superintendent using taxpayer dollars to give perks to School Board members and spouses like posh hotel rooms and $908 meals at Ruth Chris Steak House. Serving on the Board is by law an unpaid position. Board members may enjoy the perks so much that they turn a blind eye to what the superintendent is doing elsewhere. And he isn’t even using his own money to influence them – he’s using yours.
This, in my opinion, is at the very root of this retreat and resort waste, excessive lodging charges, expensive meals and other questionable expenses. It creates perks for a job that is supposed to be community service and not a paid position. Yes, I admit it often requires more hard work and hours served than one probably expected, but you are the one who wanted the position and no one twisted your arm. It’s easy to see after a long period of service that you might start thinking you do deserve something for your trouble. So when perks appear it’s easier not to question or bite the hand that feeds you.
School Board members, this is your golden opportunity to earn some public trust and confidence from the community. Use the power you have and consider making the changes we have suggested. They are certainly reasonable.
Or will you choose the same fatal mistake of those before you and ignore the public’s input, ignore the voter’s rights and run another bond election?
Harold Gentry