The message we send to our kids -- not in our kids best interest.

It's official I've been provided my own factcheck website. Now I am someone of importance and my stature in this community rises -- even if their intentions are of ill intent -- I believe any press is good press when you are trying to get the message out. After all if I wasn't hitting the right nerve, why would they even care -- I'm just a Trustee. It takes a majority vote the last I heard and I'm not much of a threat. Next stop a community organizer, the Senate and then the Presidency.

It's always easy to point out the bad in things, but it's harder to point out the good. If I didn't have faith in the Allen ISD school system I wouldn't be living here.

To tell you the truth I was quite surprised of Dr. Helvey's retirement announcement. I myself was expecting something else, but what is done is done. I do wish him well. It is not easy managing a ship that increases in size every year since the captain took command. When the ship gets large, its hard to manage every nook and cranny. Regardless, things are changing now. Although I do not stand behind the board's past judgements when it comes to prioritizing the issues, I am in support of the model to which we conduct business moving forward -- even if we have a ways to go. But, I for one, would not feel comfortable with a board that "gets along all the time". The basis for the board is the individuality of its representatives and I am under the belief that managed strife (or managed conflict) fosters and creates new ideas.

It is a fact that many, on both sides, can talk about what is good in the community and what the Allen ISD has to offer, but the important point to understand is that we have two sides and not just one. It's not a West versus East thing. Be assured even though there are those "message board enthusiast" who insist on infighting between communities, I have been to neighborhoods in Dallas, and other states, that make the entire Allen area look like the slums. If you believe that the material well being of the individual is what separates our communities, then you are ill advised and morally questionable. The fact that we highlight the two-sided view of what our school district looks like is proof enough that change needs to happen.

The statistics of the Allen ISD can be viewed in many formats, but the fact remains the same, we are below what we can achieve when it comes to SATs and minority success -- and these are just a few. No matter how much we personally believe our school system is the best, it can be proven over and over again that we may in-fact be viewed as just mediocre when it comes to our neighbors. Every school district needs improvement. If you believe the Allen ISD is perfect -- then you are blind. If you are steadfast and believe the message that our school system is the best -- then you aren't listening. The fact is we need improvement. Everyone needs improvement all the time. It is evident that we have started to put pressure on the seams, and it will only get worse before it gets better. We need to limit the impact on the student body, especially within the high school. No matter how much one may not agree, we must understand that 5700+ kids in one high-school is not the norm. But most importantly we need to send a message to our children as to what their real priorities need to be.

Side note: Personally, I like the makeup of the elementary schools, although I believe there are alternatives to splitting up neighborhoods. The fact is we need to adopt a philosophy for the school district that encompasses the need to protect our neighborhoods and the relationships of neighbors. The school district is not in the business of economic development for the city -- that is the cities mandate. We should not be splitting neighborhoods across geographic boundaries just to balance economic standings, once again that is the business of the city. There is nothing stopping the development of the East side of Allen from turning into the next Highland Park of North Texas. It just takes some ingenuity and clever economic development to make it happen.

By focusing more on the sports programs does not provide incentives for our teachers to excel. It also does not send the proper message to our children. I'm not saying that sports is not important -- what I'm saying is that we need to better balance the message to our children and the community. Why is it that we pay $10,000 stipends to athletic directors and only $300 to certain teaching programs? Why is it we buy a multi-million dollar stadium and crush our freshman class into an old 1950 era facility? What message are we trying to convey? If you are a parent is that what you want your kids being confronted with -- the belief that the sports programs are more important than their education. It's great that we win State Championships, but, to me as a parent, it would be better to boast about our number one rating in SAT scores or advancement scholastic honor systems. Don't get me wrong, I played many sports in high school, and had I attended high school in the United States, I would have most likely played college level as well. But I was not afforded that chance.

My mother was a single mom with three kids, going to school full-time and working two jobs, before she met my step father who provided us the means to see the world -- I was 11 at the time. My real father left us when I was 4. My Uncle used to tell me that there was two people that came back from Viet Nam -- those that were in body bags and those that weren't but might as well have been. My father was one that might as well have been. To my immediate family I was always going to be the blue collar job guy. "Nothing wrong with blue collar work" she say. "Maybe you just aren't designed for school like your brother".  What do you tell a 18 year old who was somewhat successful in sports, but ultimately was faced with working part-time jobs? For me I was lucky enough to find the military.

While in the military I maintained a family; worked 12 hour days; was constantly in the field or on travel; went to night school and attending as much schooling as I could on weekends, all while our Nation, at the time, was conducting war. For those that have never been in the military it will be hard to understand, but does that sound familiar? It should, I am just like the majority of those students who will share the same course and fate, but, for others, instead of the military it may be part-time work, it may be a craft, it may be marriage, or it may be prison. If we don't provide them a better message towards success, they too will have to struggle to make ends meet. Granted struggling is not bad all the time. It gave me the common sense not listen to the nay-sayers and to funnel that lack of confidence into what I could achieve. Today, I am the most educated person in my family. No I wasn't the poster child for advanced education, but, when time permits, I would love to hear about where you obtained your PhD. I'm sure it was a much better place than where I went. Regardless it was what I could afford, plus a dissertation approved by the Academy of Professionals is complex no matter where you went.


Dr. Michael Myers

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Bond Vote for the Service Center and the painting of a "Combative"

It always begs to question why a newspaper would utilize adjectives, such as “combative”, when explaining a story, unless of course they want to generate discord in their viewing audience. It’s not like we haven’t seen the use of such tactics in the last 6 years of politics. For me, though, it represents my status as a Veteran.  As a Veteran I offered a good portion of my young life in the defense of the newspaper’s right to publish. To me “combative” was as an essential part of my early training in life. From what I can ascertain this newspaper doesn’t know the meaning of combative. Regardless, such newspapers are under attack by the social media anyway. This blog represents that social media impact and how it does more than just convey a message -- or a message that supports an agenda -- it conveys the true meaning of the writer’s intent and thus reveals more of who I really am (not someone else’s meaning of what I say). Never underestimate the intelligence of your audience is what I say.

There is something the community needs to know about the related accusations of ISD involvement, and the disclosure of information, which relates to my “NO” vote on the $27 Million portion of the bond package allocated for the Service Center. It doesn’t matter how the press wants to portray me as an individual, especially a newspaper that has been a supporter of the administration and the sole-source of the ISD’s press anyway. I understand the notion to “do whatever is necessary for your team to win” strategy. The fact is I have only spoken up on this matter due to this administrations actions being in direct conflict with the law – or as I interpret it. For someone to paint me as a “squeaky wheel” or “combative” only goes to support my notion that they exhibit a bias towards the way it used to be done. I put an emphasis on “the way it used to be done”.  Plus, it generates readers for my blog, so I’m good with it.

First, the community must understand that the Board of Trustees are grounded in the basis of state law and the policies set forth. Those laws and policies are found in the ISD Board Manual and are located on the Texas Association of School Boards website (http://pol.tasb.org/Home/Index/305). Every decision that we make as a board is based on the actual edict written within that Manual. It’s crucial that the Board adheres to, and scrutinizes, the manual for any and all decisions that we must consider when it pertains to the administration of the school district funding.  We are obligated to the community in doing so. The State dictates that we must conduct all votes in front of the community; the state mandates that it is the community that elects us to our position; it is the community that we must abide by. But there is one other item that is equally important…the access to information.

It is the law:

BBE (Legal)

An individual Board member has an inherent right of access to records maintained by the District when the Board member requests the records in his or her official capacity. Atty. Gen. Op. No. JM - 119 (1983)

When there are competing confidentiality or security concerns, it may be proper for the Board to establish reasonable procedures to preserve confidentiality, but the District may not absolutely prohibit an individual Board member from viewing records involving District business that are otherwise properly available to the Board as a governmental body. Atty. Gen. Op. No. GA-138 (2004)

It should be noted that on three separate occasions I specifically asked for any and all information related to the management of the bond package for the ISD. On two occasions I even went further by requesting information on the service center itself. On all occasions, accept for two, I was not provided the information I requested.  This material was to prepare me to cast a vote on the $27 Million expenditures. It was clearly stated to all the board members that I was not in receipt of any information regarding the bond, or the service center, until a few weeks before the board vote. But, the information provided to me was a deficient cost estimate for the service center – a cost estimate, I may add, that was only based on quantities and did not specify any great detail. The night of the board vote, I was presented, as was all the board members, detailed information of the service center and the application of the bond package to move the vote forward. It is this process, and the knowledge there of, that this administration, in my interpretation, was in violation of the law. I requested an investigation by legal council, but have not received anything as of today. I draw your attention to how the law is written:

BBE (Local)

Responsibility of Records

A person, including a Board member, commits a criminal offense if the person:

1.     Knowingly or intentionally destroys, conceals, removes, or otherwise impairs the verity, legibility, or availability of a District record in contravention of Local Government Code Chapter 202. Local Gov’t Code 202.008;Penal Code 37.10

2.     Willfully destroys, mutilates, alters, or removes public information without permission as provided by Government Code Chapter 552 (Public Information Act). Gov’t Code 552.351

3.     Distributes information considered confidential under the Public Information Act. Gov’t Code 552.352

You should note that this law, as written, does not state “misdemeanor” it clearly states “criminal offense”. Without the access to information not only detracts from my ability to perform my job, as was indicated, but it also directly detracts from the benefit of the community – no matter what side of the issue you stand on. The Board is not a newspaper that can decide to represent one point of view over another. We in fact are “supposed “ to be held to state laws no matter what.

What I’ve come to learn is that the entire process, and the relationship, between the board and the administration, was indeed very, very, flawed -- as was indicated by my fellow board members and the forced nature of this past vote -- not me. Being new to the Board I could not take a stand on the condition of the relationship between the ISD and the Board.  All I can stand on is what has transpired since joining the board and those actions directed specifically at me. Those actions are the reason I continue to bring the issues to light. I am just as much part of the problem if I don’t stand up and say something…. as are you.

Dr. Michael Myers

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Board Vote on the Roundabout -- why I voted NO!

In the last board session, before the community, I voted against the money being allocated to the City to help build a Roundabout at the planned Bray Central and Bossy Boots intersection. My intent during my discussion was to highlight a question as to whether or not the Roundabout was part of the ISD property. I got mixed answers in that a majority of the board (you notice that I sit on the right side of the board and not the left) stated that it was not part of the property and was in fact a "gesture of good deed to the city". I don't have an issue with showing some support for the city. What I do have an issue with is the following:

• BAA (Legal) RESTRICTIONS ON BOARD POWERS AND DUTIES
• 
  
•  The Board may not:
• 
  
• Enter into an agreement authorizing the use of District employees, property, or resources for the provision of materials or labor for the design, construction, or renovation of improvements to real property not owned or leased by the District. Education Code 11.168 [See CE]

The text above references "BAA (Legal)". If you go to the Allen ISD Trustee website you can look up the "Manual" that we are suppose to follow. In short, anything with the term "Legal" means that it is actual law and is dictated by the State....not this board. Anything labeled "Local" means they are additives to the State law and were put in place by the board. The board can't change the law in any shape or form.

With that said, and getting back to what I was saying, if the ISD doesn't own the land we can't spend money on it.....its written in the State Law. So, that means even if we wanted to make a nice gesture to the City we can't.

The point I was trying to make is that in the prior board meeting I was under the impression that the reason for building the round-a-bout was due to our expanded property line and the fact that we impact the traffic patterns...regardless of my personal belief that we shouldn't even be considering the Service Center at this point in time or not. But, what I got was that the payment to the city was a "good deed gesture" and not actually part of the ISD property, which makes it illegal for us to consider......ahhhhh.

Personally I don't think that the Service Center should even be on the table for discussion until we meet the higher priority, and direct, needs of the overcrowding of the High School and the sub-par facility of the Lowery Freshmen Center, which by the way, per State Law is doable with the current bond allocation for the Service Center. But now we have a more pressing issue.

With the obvious mismanagement, and accusations of fraud, the decision process of prioritizing what the ISD should be focused on, is in my opinion, flawed and in fact may have been manipulated by the administrations prior financial dealings, so much so that it influenced what items the board should be considering when pursuing contracts for the student body --- thus the reason to question why we would even be considering the Service Center at this time. Don't get me wrong, I am not stating that the board was in fact flawed...I am stating that it may have been influenced and thus flawed.

The real truth is that anybody put into the situation I was asked to be involved with, would, or should, ask for further investigation and discussion on the topic as to obtain further clarification before any further board votes on expenditures, especially those expenditures related to the bond approved by the voters -- thus my NO vote on the $27 Million to start construction.

To further the cause I have asked to freeze all current activity and to form a bipartisan committee, made up with non-ISD related staff, to look into all that has transpired. Let's see what happens.

Dr Michael Myers

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Yet another...time to take control

Here is just nother. Anyone can do a google search and find a plethura of frauds committed against ISDs across the state. We need to take hold of this and put a stop to it here in Allen.

http://eagnews.org/tornillo-isd-superintendent-placed-on-leave-amid-fraud-allegations/

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Why we should take a look

Yet another case of Fraud.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20120602-dallas-isd-alleges-500000-in-additional-fraud-by-tutoring-firms.ece

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Why its imperitve that ISD contracts must be scrutinized

Just another reason why it important that an ISD manage its processess and procedures for catching fraudulent activity when it starts.

http://kfyo.com/woman-pleads-guilty-for-stealing-thousands-from-lubbock-isd/

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Allen ISD and my recent board interactions -- I call it like it is.

I find this blog to be a great way to keep track of the many topics I face on the board. Plus it allows me to state what I really want to say instead of having anyone misquote me or put it into context for their own agenda. It's a great tool to let the community know what is going on with their board. But out of respect for the laws and policies of the board, there are certain things that just can't be discussed -- such as what goes on behind closed door sessions. All I can say is if we could talk about those things that go on behind closed doors the community would see their ISD in a whole different light. Regardless we can't talk about those items.

A resident of Allen, who pays taxes to the ISD, should be aware that the law states that a Trustee who sits on the board is actually only a state official when in session. Anytime before, or after, the Trustee is just a taxpaying citizen like everyone else. We receive no pay, or benefits, for sitting on the board, and thus we maintain regular jobs as the normal citizen would. We aren't some tyrannical team of miscreants that stand upon their high post and preach their needs first. If we are then we need to go. We in fact are just citizens who were elected by you to represent and protect your needs when it comes to the ISD and its expenditures. I can assure you that all of the board members I sit with exhibit a great deal of care when it comes to administering the duties of the office. But we are just humans as well, and humans are easily influenced, especially when in unfamiliar surroundings...and most particularly with the scrutinization of 100's of millions of dollars of taxpayer money. Such responsibilities will intimidate anyone -- if it doesn't then that individual may not be suited for the job.

Since taking the seat on the board, approximately 3 months ago, I have seen many things that concern me. I myself work for a multi-billion dollar company, to which I witness more management control over a $1 Million budget than what has been exhibited with our $360 Million bond allocation. It concerns me that we entrust, blindly sometimes, this ISD and Trustee Board with such an ominous task. It is a system we are endowed with. A system we can not take lightly; a system to which we can not deviate from the rules and laws that maintain it; a system that directly impacts the lives and the futures of our children. But we must also stand vigilant and voice our concerns when we see something amiss....as I am.

It is a fact that through the "Open Records Act" any citizen can obtain the record of charges filed by the Mansfield ISD against a former 9-year employee of the Allen ISD school district. It is also open record that our district even filed its own criminal complaint against the same employee. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that such charges ultimately beg to question the administrations management of policies and procedures that were in place by this school district, which would have caught the individual in the act. The fact is we got lucky to which another ISD, which had the processes and procedures in place, were the ones that caught it. But more importantly what this indicates to me, as a new board member, is that this mismanagement would have been in place long before this supposedly "Bus Barn" candidate got voted in.

What I have been trying to convey in my recent dealings with fellow board members is that by my interpretation of the facts leads me to believe that indeed mismanagement, and lack of oversight, truly did exist. But what should concern us all is that some of the board members are somewhat confrontational when it comes to their past decisions, which further begs to questions as to why? I didn't create this mess I'm just the one that has the guts to stand up for the community and is willing to bring the issues to light. Which brings up another point as to why the other board members don't, or haven't, made a stand by saying something about it today, or in the past? It's like crickets out here. The fact of the matter is that if the same administration, that lacked enough oversight and control of it's own high-level employees, led to the accusations and criminal charges being filed, which, in my mind, may have ultimately impacted the entire process of procurement and allocation of the bonds approved by the voters. After all the same individual in question was part of the senior executive staff of the ISD. If all of a sudden you got word that the financial management firm that was handling your 401k, or retirement account, was using your money to buy "stuff" and make trips that you had no knowledge of, wouldn't you want to have answers? Why chastise your neighbor who is just trying to warn you by bringing the issue to your attention? Would you rather just shut your neighbor up so that you can stick your head in the sand and hope that it goes away? Or would you be glad that you finally have someone who is willing to look out for you?

Back to the facts though -- it is important to highlight that I am not against the service center. I am concerned about the process and the atmosphere between the administration and the board and how that relationship ultimately impacted the board in it's decisions 4 years ago. How did the ISD conduct its prioritization of student needs? Why was the Performing Arts Center (PAC), the new $53 Million Football Stadium and a $30 Million dollar Transportation Facility prioritized in front of dealing with the overcrowding of the high-school and the sub-par Lowery Freshman Center? If the administration lacked the oversight to control its own staff when it came to the budgets and the financial obligations that this prior board approved, and the voters approved, what impacts did such accusations and mismanagement have on the entire process of procurement? Especially when the same senior staff who mismanaged those allocations were part of the procurement process? We are talking about millions of dollars in contracts administered by the very same staff, and under certain circumstances, under the direct, or indirect, control of the very same accused fraudster. What happens if we find out there was much more to the story and that in fact it impacted the misappropriations of millions of dollars to which this board had the ability to stop but instead went forward with the decisions anyway? Did the administrations lack of oversight impact the relationship between the board and the ISD executive staff to the point of lackadaisical approvals and votes? Was the board truly entitled to all the information that it needed to catch such detrimental decisions? If indeed the accusations of fraud are true how do we know if the accused worked alone? The facts made prevalent to me state just that -- that the administration exhibits mismanagement and the will to manipulate the board decision process -- and I'm a sitting board member. In the end who suffers? I can tell you who suffers -- the students, the staff and the taxpayers - that's who suffers.

I for one am willing to stand up and tell it like I see it -- good or bad. I ran on the platform that I would stand up for the community and do what is right. In this case, and on day one and hour one, I was exposed to this issue. As I stated, I did not create this mess and I for one am appalled at the course this ISD has taken in the past. I will continue to follow the rules and stand up when I know something is wrong -- I would expect no less from someone I voted into office. Any mistakes or issues raised by this ISD you can truly expect that I will be all over it to insure the students come first and that the taxpayers money is well spent. When, and if, I vote NO on an issue you can stand assured that it is for a reason.

Dr Michael Myers

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