It is a privilege for me to serve our community in the capacity of a school board member. I would like to update you on the work of the Board and the progress we are making toward more open governance and fiscal accountability. While Board members may not always agree on how to accomplish our district’s goals, we all agree that our job is to provide the best educational opportunities possible for our students.
With a Board election upon us, many issues are now being debated and the focus seems to be on the many challenges the district currently faces. While understandable at this time, it would be a shame to overlook the many accomplishments our students and staff are achieving every day. Let me highlight a few examples for you.
• There has been a lot of attention given this past year to the work of the district’s Internal Audit Department. That group was honored last month with the prestigious Institute of Internal Auditors 2005 Recognition of Commitment Award – one of only 26 in the world. Internal Audit plays a critical role in our goal of increased fiscal accountability. This team helps the Board determine administrative areas for improvement and allows us to better evaluate and implement policy changes that may be needed.
• More than 40 of our high school students were selected to the Texas All-State Band Orchestra and Choir this year. These students represent the “top 1 percent” of all students who auditioned from across the state of Texas. This was truly an outstanding honor for them and shows why Fort Bend ISD is one of the top 100 School Districts in the nation in music education.
The Board also has had significant accomplishments. I am particularly proud of the work being done by three special Board Committees formed this year. Volunteer community members serve on these committees and represent a cross-section of our diverse community. They are helping us make the work of the district more open and transparent. They also allow us to draw upon the diversity of ideas and professional experience of our community.
• Policy Review Committee . This 11 member committee has reviewed several policies and recommended two for Board consideration (School Naming and rezoning policy). Their
recommendations have been approved by the Board, are being implemented by the district and have already proven successful based on initial feedback. The community is now more involved
in these processes which recently led to a very positive rezoning experience and a naming of a new school. Changes to Intra-district Transfer (IDT) policy have also been recommended and they have started work on School Safety issues.
• Audit Committee – Three community members with backgrounds in finance (CPA’s) were included on this committee along with three board members. The group initially passed a resolution defining its scope and function and reviewed the external audit produced by the District’s audit firm, Null Lairson.
• Facilities and Planning Committee – Fort Bend ISD needs a long-range plan for growth that is constantly looking out several years. In the past, we have relied only on very short-term plans
based on bond referendum recommendations to fill short-term, emergency overcrowding situations.
The community seems to clearly understand now that we must look more carefully at how we plan for the rapid growth that is predicted for some time yet to come in Fort Bend. More than 85 community members applied to participate in this important work. It took several meetings and much discussion to select 12 members who represent a strong geographical and professional cross section of the community.
The committee met for the first time last week and heard a brief overview from the expert demographer recently hired by the district at the board’s request. This committee will perform an oversight and advisory role for the Board. It has proposed that it review and appraise the methods, procedures and policies for maintaining and building new facilities and the planning for growth in the district.
It’s important we involve and engage people in the community who are interested and willing to help. On behalf of the Board, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to all the committee members for their time and efforts to help us improve in every area and to stay focused on our priorities.
• Fiscal Responsibility. The Board also continues to look for ways to improve efficiencies in the district so that more resources can be redirected to teacher and classroom needs. At this Monday’s Board meeting, we will consider out-sourcing the Tax Collection department by contracting with the county to provide that service for a fraction of the cost. This move is projected to save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
• Increased efficiency. The board unanimously approved the purchase of a system last month called Inform by NCS Pearson. This software is a student tracking program that will allow an
educator to track a student’s performance in the classroom, TAKS scores or any other measurement tool and plot their performance from an historical perspective to a current one – it will be teacher friendly and allow for a better use of existing data to improve student performance.
Soon, we will elect two new members of the Board. At that time, I believe it is essential we immediately come together to refocus and redouble our efforts on these four priorities:
1. Selecting a leader for FBISD who can formulate and communicate a strong vision for the future and who has the skills to unify and lead us there. We will be considering an item on the May 8th agenda to select a firm to conduct the search – several have been interviewed and many have submitted information to the board. I’m confident that once we get input from the public and formulate a profile for the new leader – we will have a number of top candidates to consider. Every indicator suggests that as the 7th largest district in Texas, we have many reasons to attract a great Superintendent.
2. Develop a comprehensive long-range plan to deal with the rapid growth our district continues to experience. As I mentioned above, the new Facilities and Planning committee has been charged with looking at what it is going to take to ensure our campuses meet the
needs of our students and our teachers well into the future. This is a critical task that will involve not only looking at where future campuses are needed, but also how we might better use our existing facilities across the board.
3. Improving student achievement . It’s not acceptable that we have five campuses that did not meet Adequate Yearly Progress last year. FBISD has one of the worst student/teacher ratios in the state and that needs to change. Across the board, it is our math and science scores that are keeping our campuses from higher state ratings. And, we must have a workable plan for closing the achievement gap. Our teachers and principals are among the
best in the state and we will listen to their concerns and give them the resources they need to address these problems in the classroom.
4. Enhancing safety and discipline in schools . Teachers cannot teach and students cannot learn if these basics are not in place. Discipline must be enforced fairly and evenly, but it must be enforced. As we move forward, I hope to involve our teachers, parents, FBISD law enforcement and community leaders in addressing these concerns and keeping schools safe havens for learning.
So, as you can see, we have lots of important work ahead. But with everyone working together, we can achieve our goals.
Teacher of the Year
In closing, I want to share with you a recent experience I had that really made me proud to be a part of Fort Bend ISD. I was fortunate enough to see first hand some of the outstanding teachers we have in our district by serving as a judge on the district’s Elementary Teacher of the year selection committee.
I gained great insight from hearing these teachers describe what teaching means to them and the challenges they face every day in trying to reach every child. I was most impressed with their obvious passion for working with children every day—and how they each highlighted the positives about the district during the interview portion of the judging. The entire experience was very enlightening, refreshing and encouraging. The future of our children is in good hands with the teachers in Fort Bend ISD.
Lisa Rickert
FBISD Board President
governance and fiscal accountability. While Board members may not always agree on how to accomplish our district’s goals, we all agree that our job is to provide the best educational opportunities possible for our students.
Lisa Rickert
FBISD Board President
