'One size doesn't fit all'

By JOANN LIVINGSTON Daily Light Managing Editor
Monday, July 10, 2006 1:55 PM CDT

AUSTIN - Waxahachie ISD superintendent Dr. James E. Wilcox was among those called Friday to testify before the Resource Allocation and Budgeting Subcommittee of the House Public Education Committee.

The subcommittee met for almost six hours, hearing testimony relating to several of its interim charges from a variety of witnesses, including superintendents, board members and representatives from several organizations, such as the Texas Association of School Boards and the University Interscholastic League.

Wilcox was joined on the superintendents panel by Dr. Jerry Christian of Alamo Heights ISD, Dr. Dan Troxell of Kerrville ISD and Dr. Nola Wellman of Eanes ISD.

The four were queried by subcommittee chairman Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, and subcommittee members Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston; Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin; and Rep. Bill Keffer, R-Dallas.

As an example of the challenges that school districts are facing around the state, Wilcox discussed Gov. Rick Perry’s “65-percent directive” which dictates that 65 percent of a school district’s dollars must be spent in the classroom.

Although the Texas Education Agency has yet to develop specific guidelines as to what the 65 percent rule means, Wilcox said he believes his former district, Hooks, will have a hard time meeting the requirements as it only pays the state minimum on teacher salaries, giving it less in expenditures to apply to the rule.

WISD pays more than the state minimum, but even with librarian salaries and some other support personnel added in, it is only at about 61 percent.

“Really, I think the 65 percent rule is not that good and it ties people’s hands locally,” Wilcox said, saying also that “Texas is too diverse for ‘a one size fits all’ rule.”

As did the other superintendents, Christian agreed with the state as being too diverse for cut and fast rules.

“The issues of local control and diversity in our state need to be valued,” he said.

Utility, transportation costs

Wilcox pointed out utility and transportation costs as representing huge increases in school districts’ budgets.

In the area of transportation, WISD expects to see its costs go from $61,600 for school year 2005-2006 to an estimated $146,000 for 2006-2007, a 120 percent increase.

In utility costs, the district is estimating a budget expenditure of $1.8 million for 2006-2007, up from 2005-2006’s cost of $1.2 million. The district recently worked with a consultant during about a four-month process to try and lock in the best possible prices on its utility contract, Wilcox said.

“These are pretty significant increases,” Wilcox said, saying the district is looking at about a $55 million budget for next year. “It’s a quagmire and it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

Christian tied the transportation costs into the 65-percent rule, saying that his former district, San Saba, is a district with tremendous transportation costs because of its size in area. He noted that his current district, Alamo Heights, however, is one of the districts that will do well, however, under the rule, because of the salaries it pays.

All districts, however, could be in trouble with the rule several years down the road though, if salaries again go through a several-year lull without an increase.

“If salaries don’t go up over the next few years, (the percentages) will deteriorate,” Christian said. “We won’t be able to keep up with the 65-percent rule.”

Diverse districts

Discussing the Legislature’s passage of House Bill 1 during the recent special session, Wilcox said the bill was “a great step toward correcting some problems.”

Still, he asked the sub-committee’s legislators not to lose sight of the diversity amongst the state’s districts.

“The problems are so unique and the needs of each area of the state are so diverse,” he said, saying the districts often have to spend money in different ways because of those different needs.

Some of the money provided by HB1 will have to be used by WISD to hire new science and math teachers needed to fulfill new state requirements for four years of math and science at the high school level, he said, noting other districts, however, will have to use that same money for other needs because of different concerns.

Asked about “best practices” being used by WISD, Wilcox said math and science curriculum alignments and other adjustments at the lower levels have resulted in increased testing scores, with the district now set to address those areas at the secondary level.

He said the district also is putting together a “trainer of training” model in the area of staff development that will see teachers receive training in an area and then return to their campus to train other teachers.

“We get a better buy-in when it’s one of their peers doing the training,” he said.

As did other educators speaking before the sub-committee, Wilcox noted the increasing emphasis on testing and high scores, saying at the same time, however, that communities want exemplary schools and want to see high test scores.

Troxell said his and other Hill Country districts were working together as a consortium in developing ways to add value to a child’s learning experience, with Wellman saying her district had put together a task force two years ago to look at ways to generate additional revenues, including facility usage, marketing, grants and fees. The district also benefits from its foundation and accepts transfer students.

“One size does not fit all, and many ideas that work in Eanes will not work elsewhere,” she cautioned the subcommittee members.