Chronicle: Is Jenney seeking "global center" to "glorify" himself?

CLICK the link here for the full chronicle piece: http://blogs.chron.com/fortbend/archives/2009/03/is_jenney_seeki.html

Watch Exclusive: BOT SPEAKERS PEPPER SUPERINTENDENT & PBK VENDORS WITH QUESTIONS ON "GLOBAL TAJ MAHAL BUILDING PROJECT"

During last nights public comments section of the regular board meeting several speakers engaged the trustees in a series of questions meant to clarify the current lack of information or misinformation circulating the district regarding the new proposed "Global Taj Mahal".

Since speakers are only given 3 minutes, apparently the board members were not required to respond, few if any answers were provided. One speaker, a resident/taxpayer from the district, asked the BOT if they were aware of the media reports regarding the FBI investigation going on involving the vendor/company in another school district which seemed to have similar characteristics of this project? Another speaker seemed very concerned about how the "feasibility committee" was selected to supposedly investigate if this project should even get off the ground at this time. She claimed that at no time was this process open to the public. She was also very concerned about why this project was not placed on the ballot during the last bond election and where the money is going to come from.

Two of the board candidates were present, Bruce Albright (http://www.brucealbright.com ) and Rodrigo Carreon, whom have gone on record as opposing the timing of this proposal along with Mr. Carlos Cain (http://www.carloscain.com ) who is running against Sonal Bhuchar for her seat (and who was also appointed to the "feasibility committee"). Mr. Albright chose not to speak. One rumor circulating the post meeting chat was that apparently a senior administrative official and the appointed leader of the "feasibility committee" [sales committee] is recruiting high school students to join the promotion of this project even though, according to the plan, it will only target 2nd through 8th grade students for the annual field trips to the central office extension on Lexington.

We will update this story as it progresses...

Related Stories In The Houston Press and other media:

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/01/pbk_architects_judson_isd.php

http://media.mysanantonio.com/documents/Judson+InvestigationOK.pdf

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/Judson_ISD_becomes_target_of_FBI_probe.html

http://www.woai.com/content/troubleshooters/story/FBI-Investigating-Judson-ISD/hS3fow6zx0yBnNbXqB6u2A.cspx

http://blogs.chron.com/fortbend/archives/2009/03/love_or_hate_th.html#comments

http://fbisdwatch.blogspot.com/2009/03/chron-district-continues-to-push-for.html

KHOU Covers Truancy Policy Problems!

Fort Bend mom pulls kids out of school over truancy dispute
10:24 AM CDT on Friday, March 27, 2009
By Courtney Zubowski / 11 News
FORT BEND COUNTY -- The living room is now a classroom for Dawna Loose's five children.

11 News video
March 27, 2009
View larger E-mail Clip More Video
She’s homeschooling her children after she says the Fort Bend Independent School district didn't give her a choice.

"After speaking to a few lawyers I realized that my rights as a parent did not exist as far as my children's education is concerned," said Loose....

Get the full story & video at: http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou090326_mp_automatic-truacy-citation.75092183.html

FBISDWatch comment: Was the policy change instituted this year intended to improve student performance (bottom line) or to raise more funding for the current multi-million dollar budget deficit?

FBN: Cain-Bhuchar BOT Race Heats Up!

Get the full story at: http://www.fortbendweb.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1128&Itemid=101#jreactions or http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/03/26/36631

WHAT ARE OTHER AREA BLOGS SAYING ABOUT JENNY'S TAJ MAHAL PROJECT?

We've been following this story in several area blogs. From news blogs to community blogs and found this story and these comments very interesting from a site known as http://halfempth.blogspot.com/

Fresh on the Net: a School Board Campaign Website

"I don’t ever get news this fresh, but did today when an anonymous tipster hipped me to Position 6 FBISD School Board candidate Bruce Albright’s campaign website [http://www.brucealbright.com].

It is as bare bones as you can get, but if you look at the page buried here you get his story.

I haven’t been able to fathom the guy’s politics, which is usually a non-issue when it comes to school board elections – usually – but it looks to me like this guy is taking a page from Richard Morrison’s playbook.

No one will argue that Richard Morrison, a Democrat who ran in a slightly Republican-leaning Fort Bend Precinct 1 election for County Commissioner last year, was elected to the office because he “owned” the issue of toll roads in Fort Bend County. He got his name indelibly attached to the anti-toll road sentiment that has rolled across the county. A move that couldn’t hurt since his opponent’s name was indelibly attached to the pro-toll road sentiment that was waning in the same county.

Now I reported that Bruce Albright once addressed the FBISD school board on the issue of parking rules at Dulles High School. And that was it. Not because that is all there is to the guy, but because that is literally all I could find out about him.

But now we know more, don’t we? We know for instance, that Bruce Albright represents a “No vote” for the public who want to weigh in on whether they want the district to invest untold millions of dollars on a “Global Science and Technology Center.” He is against it, labeling it, as it has become to be known in the area as a “Taj Mahal.”

Bruce Albright wants his name to be indelibly associated with an “Anti Taj Mahal” movement in the district.

I think it is safe to say, no matter where you stand on the issue, Albright has staked out the turf that just might do it for him. Might just get him past the “anointed one” that has seemingly been hand-picked by some members of the BOT to succeed outgoing Trustee Steve Smelley.

Why? The timing of this issue could not be better for opponents to the Science Center, nor could it be worse for proponents of same."

Source: http://halfempth.blogspot.com/2009/03/fresh-on-net-school-board-campaign.html

ALSO see the challenger for position 2 at http://www.carloscain.com .

FBStar: 600% Increase In Truancy, Or Cash Cow New Policy?

See this FB Star link for more: http://www.fortbendstar.com/031809/n_Fort%20Bend%20ISD%20rapped%20for%20its%20stricter%20truancy%20enforcement.htm

Albright Release: Upcoming Election for Position 6, School Board Trustee, Fort Bend ISD

This is concerning the School Board Election in May. Steve Smelly is
retiring from the school board and I have filed as a candidate for his
position in the upcoming election.

My wife Letty has been a teacher for 25 years, 19 of them with
FBISD. We have raised 2 children through Fort Bend Schools. I personally
have been teaching middle school kids at church for the past 18 years. We
both are very involved with the educational process in Fort Bend County.

I received my degree in Business & Personnel Management, from the
University of Central Florida in 1978. Since that time I have been involved
in the active management of several different companies. My specialty has
always been the ability to "turn around" operations.

I expect in the coming year, FBISD will need a fresh new prospective
in dealing with "funding problems, staffing, and student population growth", just to mention a few. They are going to need someone who can look from the "outside~ in", not the "inside-out".

Some of the other important issues are:

1) The Global Science Center:
I really don't think this district ought to be thinking about
building a "Taj Mahal", when we have teachers in classrooms without proper supplies such as copy paper, projectors, etc. and students without computers in classrooms for learning math and other computerized programs.

I think it's more important for the district to take care of the
instructional needs of all Educators and Students, not just a select few who
may or may not get any use out of this building.

2) The district should address the rate pay and spend more attention to the
needs of workers who are struggling within this current economy such as
hourly bus drivers, custodians, lunch room workers, and Teachers who are
struggling to make ends meet in this troubled economy.

3) We need to deal with the ever increasing, mushrooming layers of
administration and the salaries thereof the same.

4) Make sure our school employees have decent health care benefits and
pensions.

5) We also need to make sure that underperforming schools receive
instructional assistance in the classrooms with students, not in the
boardroom.

My pledge is simple; I will represent the students, educators, and
taxpayers with a fresh new prospective, and with the vigor of a roaring
lion.

VOTE ALBRIGHT FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE, A BRIGHTER TOMORROW !!!!

Respectfully,


Bruce D. Albright, L.S.
Candidate~ Board
Trustee, Pos 6
Fort Bend ISD

INTEGRITY ~ COMMON SENSE ~ EXCELLENCE (ICE)

Local Races See Some Candidates Turning To The Web For Support!

Nothing new about state and national elections turning more to the internet to reach its constituents, but local elections have often been hit or miss. This election cycle we have found at least 2 of the 5 school board candidates in FBISD and 1 council candidate using interactive websites to reach the public. Some with online stores and paypal features to donate.

These are ones we have located thus far:

http://www.carloscain.com/

http://www.brucealbright.com/

http://griffinforcouncil.blogspot.com/

Visit them and learn more before you vote. Remember early voting starts April 27th with election day falling on May 9th this year...

Source: http://mcelectioninformation.blogspot.com/2009/03/local-races-see-some-candidates-turning.html

Carlos Cain Issues Challenge For Position 2 Seat In FBISD Race!

CAIN MAKES CHALLENGE FOR FBISD POSITION 2 TRUSTEE

Carlos Cain, an oil field services consultant and taxpayer advocate, announced this week that he will seek the position 2 trustee seat currently held by Sonal Bhuchar.

Mr. Cain is best known for his efforts in 2007 and 2008 to push for more transparency and accountability in the bond process during the record bond election that lead to the first ever budget deficit in FBISD. He has also been involved in supporting teacher retention, academic improvement, single member school districts and improved discipline models that address real student needs.

At the 2008 district tax hearing he spoke up in favor of teacher salary increases and exposed the nearly $100 million dollar surplus fund, better known as the “fund balance account”.

Carlos has been a resident of Sugar Land since 2002 and is very concerned about the impact rising property taxes are having on our schools and community. He stated recently that “ the primary responsibility of the school board is over-sight, transparency and accountability”. It is this belief and commitment that he will bring to the position 2 trustee seat.

He can be contacted at: carloscain@rocketmail.com or 281-313-3796.

FBN Covers Truancy "Funding Bonanza" Story!

Follow the link for the full story:

http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/03/16/36417

Update related: http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/03/16/36421

Upcoming Events:

March Events

Mar. 16-20 Spring Break

Mar. 28 Education Foundation Education Expedition

Mar. 30 Regular School Board Meeting

IS THE NEW FBISD TRUANCY POLICY BEING USED AS A FUND GENERATOR FOR THE FIRST EVER DISTRICT BUDGET DEFICIT?

A QUESTION THAT CRITICS OF THE CURRENT FBISD BUDGET DEFICIT RAISED DURING THE NEW TRUANCY POLICY INITIATIVE EARLIER THIS YEAR ASKED WAS THIS BEING USED TO GENERATE ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR FBISD'S FIRST EVER BUDGET DEFICIT.

See this chronicle piece for more:

http://blogs.chron.com/fortbend/archives/2009/03/is_fbisd_truanc.html#comments

FBW comment: Apparently, nearly 8% of the student population has received citations this year raising almost 1 million dollars in district revenue. IS YOUR CHILD NEXT?

FBISDWatch would like to thank Dawna Loose and John Fjord for their assistance in following this story.

Ch. 13 Covers FBISD Discipline Policy Failure & Current Legislative Action

Original FBN Piece: Discipline Incident Involving Bush High National Honor Student Draws Legislators’ Attention (http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/03/09/36231)

YouTube Update On This Story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcmGzk_cSHU&feature=channel_page

Or visit http://fbisdjustice.com/ for more!

-We will update this piece as the need arises!

FBN: Five Candidates Vie For Two Positions On Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees!

Five Candidates Vie For Two Positions On Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees
March, 2009 | by Bob Dunn, FortBendNow

Three people have filed to run for the Fort Bend Independent School District Board seat being vacated by Steve Smelley, and Board President Sonal Bhuchar has also drawn an opponent.

Carlos Cain, a Sugar Land consultant, has filed to run against Bhuchar for the board’s Position 2 seat.

In her second term, Bhuchar was elected at the beginning of this term to serve as board president. She has also served on the Fort Bend Education Foundation.

The three running for Smelley’s vacated Position 6 seat are sales manager Bruce Albright, Missouri City consultant Marilyn Glover, and Fresno electrician Rodrigo Carreon.

“This will be my 10th year in this seat. It’s time for someone else to step up and take care of the children of this district,” Smelley said last month, in announcing he didn’t intend to run again.

Cain was among the most vocal opponents of Fort Bend ISD’s $428 million bond referendum in 2007.

Carreon is a familiar figure at Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustee meetings, who often addresses trustees on a variety of topics. He also has run unsuccessfully for a board seat in the past...

Source: http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/03/10/36279

Chron: District Continues To Push For "Taj Mahal" Science Center At The Central Office!

Chron: *Love or hate the "global tech center" idea?
Zen Zheng

There were quite a few comments to my blog post in February about a "Global Center for Science and Technology" proposed by the Fort Bend school district. Some residents in the district also shared their feelings with me personally. Most who expressed their opinions to me and my blog have varying degrees of concern about the idea. . .

. . .Blog commenter "Roughneck Bob" had this to say:

I like the idea of the district building a science and technology center, but wonder how feasible it really is. Are the schools just going to load up groups of kids on buses to the science center 2 or 3 times a week for their "mandatory" instruction? If the committee can demonstrate to me that the proposed technology center will not be dormant most of the year than all for it.

Commenter named "anonymous" had this concern:

It seems ridiculous given the current economy to be asking tax payers to carry the burden of a building that students might see once in their schooling. Why not commit those dollars to classrooms?

Another commenter, "Nancy Hentschel," saw a deeper issue:

All the resources in the world won't solve our anti science, pro creationist orientation in Texas. The Texas Freedom Network has worked endlessly to correct this problem, but when the average Texan dismisses evolution as a "theory" in a way that they would never dismiss gravity as a "theory," then it can be no wonder that we have "educated" a generation of scientifically mixed up students. All of the money and all of the grand buildings will not put this science problem together again. Perhaps we need to teach the concept of science verses the concept of belief, before we spend any more money.

Some other folks in the community described to me the district's move as one to merely package the district into a "Kitschville," good to look at but not serving real purposes.

Get the full article at: http://blogs.chron.com/fortbend/archives/2009/03/love_or_hate_th.html#comments

5 Challengers File For 2 FBISD BOT Positions

At the close of 5pm today, 5 candidates had registered for the position 2 & 6 seats. They are:

POSITION 2 (West)

Sonal Bhuchar
4306 Keating Court
Sugar Land, TX 77479
Physical Therapist
Year of Birth:
Home: 281-265-9468

Carlos M. Cain*
3622 Stratford Arms Ln.
Sugar Land, TX 77498
Self Employed – Consulting
Home: 281-313-3796
Cell: 832-859-5783

POSITION 6 (East)

Bruce Albright*
4906 Bend Court
Sugar Land, TX 77478
Sales Manager
Year of Birth: 1952
Home: 281-265-0574
Work: 713-204-2967

Marilyn S. Glover
P.O. Box 635
Missouri City, TX 77459
Consultant
Home: 281-835-0824
Year of Birth: 1945

Rodrigo Carreon*
1122 Ave. C
Fresno, TX 77545
Electrician
Home: 281-431-6734

FBN offers an update to this story: http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/03/10/36279

* denotes full support for the candidate.

FBN: Discipline Incident Involving Bush High National Honor Student Draws Legislators’ Attention

Discipline Incident Involving Bush High National Honor Student Draws Legislators’ Attention
March 9th, 2009 | by Bob Dunn, FortBendNow

With one notable exception, Amy Deschenes has never been in trouble in school since the 1st grade.

A National Honor Society student at George Bush High School, she is president of the school orchestra, and participates in a variety of volunteer organizations. She has applied to Rice and other universities with the idea of pursuing a career as a chemical engineer.

Could Amy Deschenes also represent a sword-wielding threat to the students and employees on the Bush High School campus?

The answer to that question has focused attention on the judgment of Bush High administrators and the disciplinary policies of Fort Bend Independent School District.

Full story at: http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/03/09/36231

Update:
http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/03/09/36231

Related site: http://fbisdjustice.com/

Upcoming Events:

Mar. 9 Regular School Board Meeting (end of filing period for 2 board positions)

Mar. 9-13 Texas Public Schools Week (3-9 candidate registration ends for '09 BOT elections)

Mar. 16-20 Spring Break

Mar. 28 Education Foundation Education Expedition

Mar. 30 Regular School Board Meeting

Reiter Beats Hasty Exit Off Council Leaving MC District A Open To Challengers!

Reiter Decides To Vacate District A Position After Very Narrow Win In 2007!

MC Council Election Update:

Incumbent council member Eunice Reiter of district A made it official tonight and has decided not to seek re-election. After narrowly defeating her opponent in 2007 by just 3 votes, Rodney Griffin, she was reported to have said enough is enough.

The district A council woman was involved in several highly controversial votes over the last 3 years including supporting more apartments in the city and higher taxes on several occasions.

She took a great deal of criticism from the community during her 2007 run for accepting campaign contributions from Houston development companies and then voting on their projects when they came before council. Some credit her comments during 2005 & 2006 sessions and voting approval of up to 2700 apartments in the ETJ community of Sienna Plantation along with ex-council members Don Smith, Bob Burton and current mayor Allen Owen along with Buddy Jimerson as leading to one of her first challenges for her seat in the many years she sat on city council.

FBW endorsed her opponent in 2007 and wishes her well in retirement. The district A seat currently has two challengers with rumors of a third waiting in the wings. Filing closes soon for council and school board positions.