[Cory Vessa]

Dear Fellow Trustees,

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar released the Biennial Revenue Estimate (BRE) today and it was better than expected. Instead of facing a deficit from this biennium of over $4 billion, we are facing one of just under $1 billion. And he projects revenue over the next biennium to only decrease slightly ($0.4 billion), with a possibility that it will be better than that.

While his estimate wasn’t rosy, it wasn’t dire. And I will take that as a win. And we know we have federal stimulus money coming to schools: public schools will receive $54 billion, or four times what was received from the coronavirus relief bill passed in March. The most recent package provides an average of about $1,000 per public school student.

With the state budget situation better than expected and federal money on the way, I am hopeful we can achieve our legislative priorities. I certainly will do my utter best to that end.

[Danielle Weston]

Thank you VP Vessa for your thoughts on an audit and the update from Comptroller Hegar.

I have found that when we find ourselves in the middle of storms (personal or professional), it’s helpful…imperative actually, to know where you are first. We have to know where we are in order to know where we’re going. I get lots of questions from community members, staff members and parents for which I have no answers regarding where our money is going. I refer them to staff and sometimes they get answers, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they are reluctant to ask district admin questions about money out of fear that their jobs or the reputation of their children would be at risk. As a trustee, I should know more than I do about where the money in RRISD (in general) is going.

We are between superintendents which presents a tremendous opportunity to learn where the opportunities to eliminate redundancy are, where the waste is and to ask ourselves if all of the spending we’ve inherited is consistent with the values of this board today. Resources are finite and I prioritize our dollars going to our classrooms to meet the needs of students. It’s healthy for large organizations to undergo scrutiny from time to time to demonstrate transparency to stakeholders and to make adjustments, ensuring the success of the mission.

[Danielle Weston]

At the end of last night’s (14 Jan 2021) meeting, I forgot to ask for a discussion item on different types of audits for us to consider to be placed on the agenda. I know next weeks 21 Jan 2021 meeting is probably already packed. Can we please put this discussion item on one of Feb 2021 meeting agendas?

[Anonymous]

I agree with Trustee Weston that an audit/review of where the money goes will be very helpful in between superintendents. I am open to discussion.

[Dr. Mary Bone]

I would also like to see the topic of Audits placed on the agenda. Since it is my understanding the bond oversight committee has not met since February of 2020, I think some type of external audit to fill in this gap of oversight would be invited. Also, an audit to look for any places the district could be more efficient in the use of our funds might be helpful at this time.

[Tiffanie N Harrison]

Almost started another thread but I believe this applies here.

I would like to see an external equity audit included. I know that we have yet to hear from the Chief Equity Officer but I believe it is important that this process is driven externally, rather than internally where we have long been complicit in inequity. AISD is in the midst of their equity audit process with IUPRA (Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis) at the University of Texas.

This afternoon we received yet another email requesting a SPED/504 Town Hall. I do not believe we should have to continually be reminded to accommodate SPED/504, English-learners, low-income families, families of color, LGBTQIA+ students and staff and more.

I’m extremely curious about how much we are paying out in compensatory education services as well as settlements for EEOC/Title VI/Title IX complaints. Some of this information is shielded from public view. There is a moral implication to our lack of equity. There is also a financial one as well.

[Danielle Weston]

I appreciate the support of Dr’s Xiao and Bone in joining me to place financial audit types as a discussion item so that we as a board can ask questions and learn about the different types of financial audits so that we can later decide which one makes the most sense. Thank you and I look forward to seeing that on the Feb 2021 agenda.

I am also open to adding a discussion on an equity audit and appreciate Trustee Harrison bringing that up because it’s absolutely appropriate here. I know the last superintendent hired an Equity Chief after the last school board voted unanimously to create an equity department in summer 2020. My understanding is that the Equity Chief is pursuing hiring staff members as well. It’s important for me to understand how this expenditures (and all expenditures) is going to improve student outcomes. A discussion on an external equity audit certainly merits discussion.

I also agree with Trustee Harrison in supporting a SPED/504 Town Hall. This is entirely appropriate.

Finally, in order to lead, and make decisions, this board of trustees must be briefed on (as Truste Harrison states) what RRISD is “paying for compensatory ed services as well as settlements”. I am now asking for a spreadsheet going back five years of all of these expenditures including but not limited to:
-The date (month and year) of the expenditure
-Forum in which the settlement was made (arbitration, litigation, mediation, etc),
-Which campus the situation came from
-Total expenditure amount
-How many students RRISD is paying for to attend private/charter/parochial schools as a result of these settlements
-Who was the decisionmaker in such decisions (RRISD superintendent, a judge, board of trustees, etc)

This information essentially serves as feedback to RRISD leadership (admin and elected trustees) on where some of our areas of improvement are and whether there are areas that require our focus and attention in ensuring we are meeting the needs of students while respecting taxpayer dollars. Every dollar that goes to a settlement is a dollar that will never make it to an RRISD classroom.

To the extent that this information can be made public, I’d like it made available to the public as well.

[Author]

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