Safety First

In the petrochemical industry we spend a lot of time in safety meetings because there is danger everywhere in what we do and where we work. Nothing is user friendly, and it’s all designed to hurt you very badly, or kill you. As a long project moves on, most of us tune out at the daily mass safety meetings because the same message is delivered every day, and it gets very tedious when there is no new information. It often feels like a beating just to be in the meetings.

Tonight’s meeting was a little different. A fine young man we’ve worked the entire job with took to the podium, and it was immediately apparent he is not very comfortable as a public speaker. He read the words off a prepared document, making eye contact when he could. He told us about himself, his upbringing in a home where both parents regularly abused alcohol and drugs, and spent little time parenting. Then the inevitable divorce, how he and his sister had to raise and take care of themselves, and how cirrhosis killed his father three years ago at a relatively young age.

He didn’t tell the story to evoke sympathy, he just wanted to get our attention. At the end of a long project like ours, one that is going to end a week after it should have, there is an unspoken pressure to get things done quickly, and get the unit turned over to operations. Tempers get short, voices get loud, and the different crafts start pointing fingers and laying blame on each other as to why the work isn’t getting done. This young man’s message was to slow down, even under the pressure of meeting a deadline, and making sure we are all doing a quality job, safely.

He used some recent words from Lady Gaga: “In times of chaos and crisis, what we all tend to do is start pointing fingers at where we think the bad guys are, where the evil is. Everybody has different opinions about that. Please do not forget that hatred or evil, whatever you want to call it, it’s intelligent. It’s smart and it’s invisible. It doesn’t have a color, it doesn’t have a race, it doesn’t have a religion, and it has no politics. It’s an invisible snake.  “While evil is planning to make its attack, it is thinking to itself, ‘I am going to divide my enemy into smaller, less strong groups and then I’m going to make them hate each other, so that it’s easier to take them down.’ And as we’re all yelling at each other trying to figure out which group it is, evil is winning all around us.”

The young man closed his remarks with this: We have to get rid of these labels, these different factions; rich and poor; black and white; straight and gay; Christian, Muslim, and Jew; none of this should matter. Rather, we should all be unified in the one thing that is common to us all: our humanity. The one thing we should all appreciate in one another is kindness. This has to come before all things.

He definitely had my attention.

A Country On The Move (2017)

From 2009-2015, the population of Illinois decreased by almost 250,000 people. Those people left for places like North Carolina, Texas, Florida, Arizona, and other states that have much lower taxes for residents and businesses. The 247,410 people who left took around $13.7 billion with them. The trend continued in 2017, as 33,000 more people left the state and took almost another $2 billion.
The decrease in California since 2011 is almost the same (243,099), and those folks took $7.794 billion with them to states that have much lower taxes and costs of living for middle class families. The top two states the California refugees left for last year were Texas and Nevada, two states that have zero income tax. Personal and corporate income tax hikes in California have likely helped exacerbate the exodus of Californians.
New York has the highest state and local tax burden in the country, consuming an average of 12.7% of household income before the federal government even takes its portion. Since 2011, New York’s state population has decreased by 577,286, and these folks took more than $27 billion with them. The top recipient of former New York residents last year was Florida, which does not have an income tax.
Connecticut’s decrease since 2011 is 73,676 and $8.543 billion.
All four states are chasing families and businesses out with crushing taxes and onerous regulations. New York is leaving clean burning natural gas in the ground in the state’s southern counties while thousands of high-paying jobs are created just across the border in Pennsylvania, and billions of dollars in revenue fills Keystone State coffers.
What does all this mean? It means people are voting with their feet, and we are seeing them vote in favor of states that have smaller governments, lower taxes, and more sustainable levels of spending.
The Texas population increased an estimated 2.5 million since 2011. No state income tax, rich natural resources, abundant land, a central location within the United States and a business-friendly environment continue to attract both immigrants and U.S. natives to Texas. As a result, the state’s population is faster growing, younger and more diverse than the nation’s.
Rapid growth and demographic changes present challenges for Texas, but as a Texan, I welcome these newcomers and the diversity they bring to my state with open arms. I always tell them we have plenty of room, but to bring a strong work ethic and a mindset that Texas is still a place where you can create your own future. Regardless of what the media tells you, we respect hard work, and don’t care so much about the color of your skin.
One last thing to the newcomers: remember why you moved here in the first place, and please don't California my Texas.

Who's To Blame For President Trump?

Thank you to Viral Thread and Jonathan Pie

As a Libertarian, I’m not shocked at all by Donald Trump's election. The moment liberals believed he couldn't do it is the moment he took the White House. Of course Trump won. Why is everyone so shocked? The media, the political elite, the pollsters, the markets, and the left are all walking around with their collective jaws on the floor.

How can the left be this shocked? Hillary Clinton? What were the Democrats thinking? Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather vote for Lucifer than Donald Trump, but this isn’t about how Trump won, it's about how Clinton lost.

Seriously. How bad do you have to be to lose to Trump? Where was Bernie Sanders? Why wasn’t he on the ticket? Sanders was infinitely more electable than Clinton, but the Democrats decided on a candidate who’s been cozying up to the banks and dry humping corporations for years. She’s on record telling her corporate friends that you should have a public and a private persona. In other words, don’t tell the truth to the plebs, or you won’t be able to rip them off.

What did they think was going to happen? People keep asking themselves, “How did this happen?” They’re dumbfounded, but it’s so incredibly simple.

The left did this. When are they going to learn? The left have given up putting any argument across at all to the point where Hillary Clinton is considered a liberal. On many issues, the conservative prime minister of England, Theresa May, is less right wing than Clinton. That’s a fact. And yet, people are all over Facebook saying, “I’m with her. She’s certainly better than Trump.” Sorry, that’s not good enough.

Most people who voted for Trump are not sexist, or racist. Some are, but most are not. Most people didn’t vote for her, not because she’s a woman, they didn’t vote for her because she offered no palpable change what so ever. Same old stuff in a different container.

Trump offers a change. A terrifying change, but at least it’s a change. Clinton represented very little actually. She protects corporate interests, feeds the military industrial complex, and doesn’t call the police when questions from the debate are leaked to her in advance. I noticed the media barely reported that.

What does it take to get the left to realize an argument isn’t won by hurling labels and insults? When will they learn that the key is discussion? Rational, thoughtful, meaningful discussion? Those on the left unwilling to seriously discuss issues created the conditions that allowed President Trump and people like him to thrive.

People on the left won’t listen, so this is their fault. The left have decided that any other opinion, any other way of looking at the world is unacceptable. They don’t debate anymore because they hold the moral high ground and won the cultural war. So, if you’re on the right, you’re a freak. You’re evil, racist, uneducated, and stupid. You are a basket of deplorables and are not deserving of their time. How do you think people are going to vote if you talk to them like that? When has anyone ever been persuaded by being insulted or labeled?

So now, those on the right, or anyone who is against the prevailing view, are attacked for raising their opinion. That’s why the media and pollsters missed on this one. The left shouted down their opposition, keeping them quiet and still until they reached the voting booth. In there, no one is watching. There’s no blame or shame, and you can finally say what you really think and that is a powerful thing.

All the exit polls were wrong; all of them. Because when asked, people on the right can’t say what they actually think. They can’t say what they think because they’re not allowed to. The left have made people unable to articulate their position for fear of being shouted down. Every time someone on the left has said, “You mustn’t say that,” they are contributing to this culture.

It’s time for the left to stop moaning and crying over an opportunity lost. It’s time to stop ignoring your opponent, or worse, trying to silence them. It’s time to stop banning people from speaking at universities. It’s time to stop thinking that reposting an article on your Facebook feed is political engagement.

It’s time to stop thinking that banning a gymnast from doing what he’s good at because he insulted someone’s religion somehow achieved something. When did the gymnastics association start thinking it was appropriate to start enforcing blasphemy laws?

If this dialogue hurts your feelings you have two choices: run away to your safe space, or you can engage and debate me, and tell me what I’m getting wrong, and why. Being offended doesn’t work anymore. Throwing insults doesn’t work anymore. The only thing that works is engaging in the debate. Rational, logical, meaningful debate.

So stop surrounding yourself with only people you agree with. Talk to people who think differently than you and persuade them with your argument. It’s so easy, and the left have lost the art.

Stop thinking that everyone who disagrees with you is evil, or racist, or sexist, or stupid, and talk to them. Persuade them to think otherwise, because if you don't at least try, you get what you deserve. You get President Trump.

Let Me Tell You 'Bout My Best Friend

A couple years back I was asked to contribute to the summer edition of Rette, White & Blue dedicated to my wife, Shelley. The magazine editors used what they needed from my submission, but I wanted to publish all of what I wrote in tribute to her.

I jumped at the chance to write about Shelley for the magazine. The main reason was my desire for her and everyone else to know how I feel about being her husband and how proud I am of her and all of her accomplishments. The difficulty comes when putting my feelings into the right words that will allow others to appreciate what I feel about her.

2014 began with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Dance Educators Association. Each year, TDEA honors a dance educator with at least fifteen years of service and “who exhibits a true dedication toward the advancement of a dance drill team.” In Shelley’s case, she has dedicated her life to dance performance and education, and no one is more deserving of the honor.

Shelley loves what she does, and it shows in more places than just a football field or an auditorium stage. It shows in places like small studios tucked away in nondescript strip centers, some of which many folks in the dance industry don’t even know exist. It shows in lasting and cherished relationships with colleagues and former students built during thirty years in her industry. And, it shows in her face as she decides on something as simple as a costume choice or as incredibly difficult as choosing 36 girls from almost 100 candidates to carry the legacy of the Rangerettes forward another 75 years.

Shelley doesn’t just love what she does; she loves her students, which I believe is one of her strongest attributes. She feeds off their energy as well as their love and admiration for her, and in turn, what they get from her as a mentor and teacher is immeasurable. However, I’d bet if you ask Shelley who gets more out of the relationships between her and her students, she’d have no problem convincing you that it was she. After almost twenty-five years of witnessing the way Shelley and her students work together, I agree.

Shelley’s involvement and love for the Rangerettes began as a member and officer on the team from the fall of 1985 through the spring of 1987 and continues with 24 years as the organization’s Assistant Director and Choreographer. I’m amazed at how she imagines and produces new and inventive choreography each and every year, almost as if she has an infinite amount of ideas dancing around inside her.

When Shelley speaks about the Rangerettes, it’s always with love and reverence in her voice, often accompanied by moist eyes. That emotion comes from how she feels about the organization and what it gave her: discipline, energy, creativity, and the desire and drive to work hard and succeed.

With an inner energy that gives her strength, both physically and spiritually, Shelley has no problem moving furniture, lumber, fencing, or props, and just as easily, she moves a dancer’s heart and mind with her creativity. She is also capable of breaking a truck window with a scrap piece of lumber and a single mighty swing to save the life of her dying husband, as if I didn’t already owe her more than I could ever repay before that incident.

I travel extensively for work, so the daily operation of our home is also Shelley’s responsibility. As in everything else, she excels in this role. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, home remodeling projects, sick dogs, our daughter Ryan, and a husband who whines constantly about working away from home; she manages all with ease.

One might think all this pressure and responsibility would take a toll on her, but Shelley is more beautiful now than when we met almost thirty years ago. Part of this is her incredible physical beauty, but mostly it comes from her confidence in who she is as a person, whether in formal attire or blue jeans and boots, always wearing that million-dollar smile.

As my wife, she is strong and independent but also supportive and nurturing. She is an excellent mother and mentor to our daughter Ryan, and I am proud of the bond that they share. Ryan has followed in her mother’s footsteps, but not because Shelley pushed or pulled her through those footsteps. Rather, Shelley only guides and assists when asked or needed and always allows Ryan the freedom to be who she is.

In short, she is my best friend, the reason I’m still alive, and the person I’d most like to be stranded with on a desert island. I am honored she chose me as her husband and can only hope you are all able to see her as I do.

Michael Wayne

Free College

Free College

I have friends all over the political spectrum including Anarchists, Liberals, Progressives, Conservatives, Populists…I think you get the idea. I usually pick my friends because they are good, decent people, and totally fun to hang out with. That doesn’t mean they aren’t misguided when it comes to what they believe our government should, and should not, do.

In recent conversations with Progressive friends, they share a common belief that education beyond high school should either be completely free, or done at a greatly reduced price through government subsidies. I’ve traditionally disagreed with this premise, because I usually hear it from people I feel suffer from the “entitlement” syndrome.

They hide that sense of entitlement pretty well though, and speak with honest conviction born of what they see as the moral high ground, trumpeting their number one catchphrase, “Free education for everyone can only better us as a nation.” But, they’ve never given me any specifics on how it makes us a better nation. I believe that education does not make people or a nation “better”, whatever that means. I do believe what a person does with that education is important.

All that aside, I am nothing if not open minded, meaning I am capable of thinking through my personal prejudices and using reasoning to see the other side of an argument in an attempt to find validity in it.

History

During the colonial era literacy was necessary to promote religious orthodoxy. In the revolutionary era leaders were concerned with building an educated citizenry, though their vision was limited to White male property-holders. In the early industrial era the expansion of public education was a response to the transformation of society from rural and agricultural to industrial and urban. In this era and in the age of mass European immigration from 1880 to 1924 education was also about the assimilation and Americanization of new groups.

In each of these periods education was also about mechanisms for social control in a society undergoing cultural and demographic change. In the 1950s expanded educational funding and opportunity was part of the Cold War. Today educational “reform” is a major part of both the debate over how the United States should respond to globalization, computerization, and de-industrialization and also again over what to do about a new wave of both documented and undocumented immigrants.

It was less than 100 years ago (1918) when all 50 states finally required compulsory education for all, but it was only through grade six (elementary school), and 34 states required education only up to age 14. As recently as 1940, only 50% of young adults age 18-22 had a high school diploma.

What I’ve realized through reasoning and research is that our public education system is never an independent force in American society or a principle agent for social change. It is, however, an ever evolving entity, changing when needed to reflect the basic debates taking place in the broader society.

I’m fond of saying, “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” I now find myself open to the idea of changes to our education system beyond the 12^th grade. I am willing to compromise in making our education system better, but not without guidelines and limitations at first. I also see the need for serious help for our children in making wise choices when it comes to their education beyond high school.

Numbers

The average annual rate of inflation since 1975 is 3.78%. So when, I reference inflation in the following paragraphs, it’s limited to the 3.78% per year between 1975-2016. Additionally, the cost of education in the following paragraphs does not include the added costs of housing, meals, books, and miscellaneous expenses.

The average cost of a 4-year public college education in 1975 was about $7,200, or about $1,800 a year. Using inflation as a guide, the cost of a 4-year public college education today should be around $33,300, or $8,325 per year. The cost today for in-state students at the University of Texas (Austin) and Texas A&M (College Station) are $39,300 and $37,700 respectively. Both are higher than the rate of inflation, but not wildly so, costing only about $1,500 a year more than the rate of inflation.

Public universities across the country have varying levels of costs so using Texas schools tends to skew the numbers. The cost today for an in-state student, 4-year degree at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and the University of Virginia (Charlottesville) are $55,600 and $57,900 respectively, both near double the rate of inflation.

Out-of-state students at public universities pay 3-5 times as much as in-state students, so this is where rational, reasonable, intelligent thought is needed when parents and their high school children start making decisions about what’s next.

Private education costs have also outpaced the rate of inflation. You could even say they’ve lapped inflation two or three times. Exclusive private school tuitions on average were $20,000 for a 4-year degree in 1975. Today that amount won’t even cover one YEAR of tuition at the least expensive private schools in the country.

The biggest question for these universities is “Why?”

Other Problems

High school students do not have effective career counseling available to them. High school counselors are overwhelmed with work that prevents many of them from learning and knowing all they need to keep students and parents well informed about education options after high school.

High school counselors are college graduates, all with advanced college degrees, but this does not make them experts on college. A counselor’s knowledge about college admission strategies, standardized testing and scholarships is somewhat limited. Ironically, during this period of skyrocketing college costs, financial aid is often the subject that high school counselors know the least about.

Before counselors can begin working in a public high school, they must earn a master’s degree in counseling. Graduate school programs, however, rarely offer even one class in college planning. Consequently, the majority of counselors arrive at high schools not knowing about critical college issues even though for many families a bachelor’s degree represents the second biggest expense they will ever face. The topic of college admissions are simply not on the radar of graduate schools, which are more focused on mental health issues.

While this lack of training is common knowledge in the higher education world, I believe parents would be shocked to learn that most high school counselors are not college authorities. Parents typically believe that high school counselors could answer all their questions if they could only get some precious face time with them.

High school students also suffer due to a lack of training in real world skills. Ninety percent of high school seniors do not know how to properly keep or balance a checkbook. Our new system of education would require all seniors to take a mandatory class that teaches these skills, including how to develop and use a household budget, what to do when involved in an automobile accident, how to act when pulled over by law enforcement, and how to register and vote to name just a very few.

Where Does That Leave Us

As I said earlier, I’m willing to compromise with Progressives on their ideas of education beyond high school, but I have several rules to employ before I sign off on this. Of course, students who do not want and/or need to participate in this program, are always free to choose any school and degree they desire.

First – All current, traditional federal student aid stops under this program because it's no longer necessary. Individual states are free to do as they choose, but may work under this new federal program, contributing all their current state aid to the federal program education pool.

Second – Students in this program are eligible to receive any and all private aid available in the form of scholarships, grants, etc, but are not allowed to borrow any money to use for education.

Third – Government contribution to your education is based on a risk matrix similar to those used in business and industry. A simplistic example of this is how auto insurance companies base premiums on the risk of having to pay out a claim. The higher the odds it is believed you will complete your degree and find employment, the lower the cost of your education, which in many cases could be $0.

Fourth – A student’s high school academic performance, coupled with extra-curricular activities, community involvement and application essay determines how much they receive from the government towards your education. Our country wants and needs educated, motivated, determined individuals to move us forward, and we’re willing to invest in our young people.

Fifth – You must study at a public college or university, or an approved trade school.

Sixth – The school you wish to attend must be located either within your state, or within a state that offers in state tuition rates to students from your high school.

Seventh – You may choose your degree from a list of degrees built by a committee comprised of members from the Departments of Education, Labor, and Commerce. This list will be updated as often as deemed necessary by the committee, but not less than annually.

Eight – You have 54 months to complete your Bachelor’s degree. Teachers requiring additional time for classroom observation and student teaching have 66 months. Trade school time guidelines are based on the course of study chosen. Applications for extensions due to extenuating circumstances are accepted on a case by case basis.

Ninth – Careers traditionally requiring advanced degrees for entry level positions are included. There are time limits on completion of the graduate programs as well, and available funding is lower than that at the undergraduate level.

Tenth – If you want a career in ‘A’ but no openings exist, you may enter the most closely related degree program that has immediate opportunities. If an opening in ‘A’ occurs before the start of your third year, you may change programs and have an additional year (66 months) to complete your degree.

Summary

Like all hot topics, the truth always lies in the middle. It’s time to stop looking at education as a commodity to be bought and sold, but it’s also time to stop telling our children that everyone needs a four year college degree to be successful and enjoy their life. Lastly, it’s time to stop believing that you should be able to study what you want in an effort to be what you want while asking someone else to pay the bills for it. If you want our nation to be "better" seek out degrees and career paths in demand.

“You dropped a hundred and fifty grand on a f---ing education you coulda got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library.” – Will Hunting

Truer words were never spoken.

Free Speech and the Micro-Aggression Problem

Something on American college campuses today that very few are paying attention to is the issue of free speech. We now have this theory of “micro-aggressions”, which is simply an attempt to silence people. When I ask someone who is of Asian descent, “Where are you from?” what I mean is, “Where did you grow up?” or, “Where did you go to high school?” It’s an attempt to form a personal connection with that person, to see what we might have in common. It’s not a question related to their ethnicity.

College campuses used to be places where all sorts of ideas, both good and bad, took root. Content was the most important thing and students learned how to filter thought the WAY something was said to hear WHAT was said. Not so much anymore.

The only way for a person to convince others of an idea is through reason, and if the audience is more concerned with how something is said rather than what is said we might as well close up shop. When we don’t have free speech, when we can’t communicate, when we can’t defend ourselves with reason, all we’re left with is anger, guns, and stockpiles of ammunition.

Free speech is being attacked everywhere. Radical Muslims are attacking it with guns, and university professors are attacking it with this theory of micro-aggressions. What’s next from the professors, nano-aggressions? Where every single spoken syllable is an attack on women and minorities by straight white males? Yeah, there’s also that. No one cares about micro-aggressions when they’re said TO straight white males. They only care about them when said BY straight white males.

Why are they using the term aggression? It’s an attempt to obliterate the difference between physical action and speech, so that when you insult or offend someone, it’s as if you physically slapped them across the face. Ultimately it’s how they will destroy the first amendment because they will claim insulting someone is not speech; it’s action. The idea of free speech was purposefully and specifically designed to protect speech we don’t agree with.

In the minds of the purveyors of micro-aggression theory it comes down to a sensitivity issue, to the right of a person to not be offended. But, here’s the deal; the right to not be offended isn’t an actual right. Besides, there no universal set of things that offend people. What’s offensive to me may not be offensive to you. I’m half Jewish, and if I had a nickel for every time I heard someone say “the price was too high, so I Jew’d the guy down,” I’d be retired in Bora Bora by now. The real world is tough people; wear a cup.

I have a few questions for these students who believe in the micro-aggression theory and need safe spaces;

• Aren’t you embarrassed to be so conformist as to adopt the latest trendy idea your professors are telling you to adopt?
• Doesn’t it bother you how everyone is congratulating themselves over how moral they are because they’ve adopted this latest fashion?
• Don’t you want to be an independent person and think for yourself so you can value free speech?
• How can you live with yourself being just a follower?

We should never knuckle under to the real, hateful, physical aggression against this perceived problem of micro-aggressions. Their power rests in their belief that they hold the moral high ground and that when confronted, people will back down and knuckle under. There is no way for them to defend their position if someone stands up and says, “I don’t accept the idea of micro-aggressions. It is collectivist crap. People have no right to not be offended.”

Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of our defense against dictatorship and the ability to use our minds in the service of our own lives. Anyone who would dare to suggest that you don’t have the right to insult someone deserves to be rebuked in the strongest possible terms.

Kilgore ISD Board of Trustees

To the Board of Trustees

Kilgore Independent School District

Members of the Board,

I am writing today as both a taxpayer and a concerned parent of a KISD student. Kilgore needs positive things happening to insure continued economic growth and development. Recent events regarding our school district and the actions of the school board do not reflect well on the community, and can only impact Kilgore in a negative manner.

To have smart, steady, sustainable growth we must move away from old ideas to embrace new ones, and it’s possible to do this without compromising who we are as a community. The old-fashioned, “good old boy” way of doing things must end unless we wish to be left behind while other communities in our area experience positive growth.

One example of embracing new ideas can be found right here in town. Not too many years ago, Merritt Tool’s business model was one of ninety percent oil field and ten percent other industries. However, Merritt Tool’s leadership saw change coming and embraced it. Their business model changed to one of ten percent oil field and ninety percent other industries. This change in business their model brought Triumph Industries and new opportunities to Kilgore.

Quality educators do not want to work at a district in turmoil, a district where the board micromanages things, especially when it is something that effects friends of a board member or when a board member has a personal axe to grind. Quality people do not want to live in a community where they are considered outsiders because they weren’t born and raised there. Quality industries will not create jobs in a city where the citizens are at each other’s throats over something as trivial as a student not making a team.

Many Kilgore citizens have lost faith in the board’s ability to make rational, impartial, intelligent decisions regarding what is best for ALL the school children in our district. They’re just afraid to say so because they are people you grew up with, went to school with, go to church with, and even work with. They are your friends, but as board members they, like I, believe you’ve lost your way, and that you have forgotten that you are all elected public servants, with an emphasis on servant. The teachers, parents, and children of the school district DO NOT work for the school board, it’s supposed to be the other way around. If you believe otherwise then you are wrong person for the job.

Effective and respected leaders think of those they serve first and themselves last, if at all. I am not impressed. Many of you are on the board for the wrong reasons, and it’s time for you to go. So know this: change is inevitable, and it is on the way.

Public servants running unopposed in elections is not good for any community. Moving forward, I am dedicating myself to getting our citizens involved in helping to remake our school board to insure our students are capable of meeting the challenges of the 21^st century. I’ve read, and will read again, every document related to the board and its procedures, and I will scrutinize every single future decision you make. Every. Single. One.

One of my concerns with the board in general has to do with Section IX of board procedures. As I understand this paragraph, the goals for the board are set by the board, and evaluation of completion of the board’s goals are determined in an assessment…completed by the board. The circular logic of this item is quite dizzying. The combination of a lack of independent oversight, and nowhere to go when one is unhappy with board decisions does not seem healthy, for either the citizens of the district or for the board itself. Are a list of the board’s goals and the results of the self-assessment ever made available to the public?

Below are some excerpts from the code of conduct you all signed when taking office, along with a couple other items I found in school board documents.

·        Always strive to put the needs of children above the wants of adults and make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of ALL children in the District regardless of ability, race, creed, ethnicity, social standings.

·        Accept criticism without getting defensive or angry.

·        Be open-minded and listen to the opinions of others.

·        Express personal views in a positive and constructive manner.

·        Disagree without being disagreeable.

·        Do not harbor grudges from past issues or events.

·        Do not let personal pride, ego, grudges, friendships, or other personal considerations influence decision making. (My personal favorite)

·        No Board member or officer has authority outside of a Board meeting.

·        No Board member can direct district employees in regard to performance of duties.

·        The Board sets district policies, and supports the superintendent in his/her job of managing the district and directing employees in district and campus matters.

Regarding the Hi-Stepper drill team last fall, you failed horribly when measured against several of the items on the list above. When questioned, the board stated at their April 2016 meeting that the Hi-Stepper parents did not hear the testimony the board heard regarding the case. What was that testimony? Did you receive testimony from everyone, or just the family who complained? Has the board turned into a modern day version of a Star Chamber, engaging in strict, arbitrary rulings and secretive proceedings that benefit only the limited few who are “in” with the board?

In my opinion and the opinion of many others, you did a great disservice to this young lady. You taught her that she doesn’t have to deal with disappointments in life, because there is always someone who can fix it. You taught her that rather than accept the decision of the judges and hold herself high with dignity and grace, she can simply run away.

There are times when the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many, but this was not one of those times. Some of you are good friends of the young lady's family, so you felt it was your place to “help.” Some of you simply don’t care for the current drill team director and took this opportunity to make life difficult for her. Either way, it was the wrong thing to do.

Regarding individual board member behavior in monthly meetings, it is childish and improper to try intimidating citizens by staring them down when they say something you don’t care for. Behavior like this is beneath you all. It is not proper for an elected public servant to behave in this manner, and it goes against your code of conduct.

School board members reaching out to parents in an honest attempt to solve a problem is a good thing, and these efforts should be applauded. However, it is inappropriate to speak with a parent privately on a heated topic once it becomes a public issue, unless there is a record of the meeting.

Lastly, it appears some board members don’t understand the fine art of detachment. By that I mean keeping the roles of parent and board member distinctly separate, because crossing that line is a conflict of interest. Parents have every right to be disappointed and want changes when circumstances at school don’t always work in their child’s favor. However, the code of conduct states that school board members DO NOT have that luxury.

I am planning to run for the school board next year in an attempt to affect positive change and stop the board from the day-to-day meddling it is known for. While it has done some good for the district, the present board has done far more than their fair share of damage, and I am tired of it dividing our community. To paraphrase words from someone far more intelligent and eloquent than I; “You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency gentlemen, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?”

Our community is in my prayers daily, as are our community leaders, including all KISD board members. I will continue to pray, but until you all realize that you work for the district and the community rather than the other way around, we have a very, very long way to go.