This article was published in the Fort Bend Star. See the link below for the entire article.
The hubris of leadership....I am often astonished by the arrogance of some of our appointed and elected officials.
For example, I recently was informed that FBISD’s global center for science and technology was still on the drawing boards. I thought everyone agreed that in the economic climate of today, the science center was a program we did not have to have.
The global center for science and technology was FBISD’s answer to low science scores on the TAKS tests. Rather than throw a bunch of money at the classrooms, the district in its bid to build something it could name after somebody proposed a project that, except for its name, wasn’t going to do much for anybody, what with loading kids up and busing them several miles once or twice a semester so they could spend scant minutes at the center before loading on a bus and heading back to their home campus.
I had no idea the district was still kicking that ill-fated idea around until the board started talking about a bond election in order to not only build more schools, but of a more immediate nature, repair some schools in bad shape. Board members were informed that money still left over from previous bond issues was being saved for the science center rather than being used for current repairs.
Are you kidding me??? It is inconceivable to me that with as much controversy over the center in the first place that it would still be on the agenda.
Does the superintendent, Dr. Tim Jenny, realize that the effective term of a school superintendent is about five years, and he is dangerously closing in on that term.
When board members Lisa Rickert, Laurie Caldwell, Stan Magee, and Ken Bryant (yeah, I still remember the names and will for a long time. Our district lost about three years during that fiasco and is still paying for it), dismissed Dr. Betty Baitland and the HR department head was appointed to take her place and serve as interim superintendent, there were predictions that no one would apply for the job. It was thought the contentious board would keep good applications away. The district claimed it received over 40 applications but went all the way to the coast of Virginia to hire Dr. Tim Jenney, who by that time had resigned from the school's system and was working at Regents University, the college founded by Pat Robinson.
Dr. Jenney had apparently done a good job of straightening up the Virginia Beach school system before leaving and hopes for his leadership in FBISD were high.
However, it has been rocky. I’ve never known of a superintendent that the teachers hated so universally. He brought many administrators from Virginia Beach with him which may have been a good thing as schools have a way of becoming inbred, but it has resulted in untold resentments.
Now we find that amid all the other economic problems plaguing the school district, a “secret” fund is still being kept aside for the building Dr. Jenney wants to build. The hauteur of this action seems almost unbelievable. Shame on Dr. Jenney and shame on the school board for letting our schools go dangerously lacking in repair while still harboring conceited thoughts of a “science center.”
Read the rest of the article here:
http://www.fortbendstar.com/110310/burner110310.htm
Dr. Jenney has a history of this going back to 2003 in Virginia. His actions there cost him a job in Florida.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.veritas-solus.com/VNS/Archive/schoolfeast.htm
School Supt. Tim Jenney throws a School Board feast on tax dollars
School Supt. Tim Jenney, just 2 nights after getting a highly favorable closed door evaluation from the outgoing rubber-stamp school board threw a feast costing thousands of dollars to express his appreciation to departing members at taxpayers' expense.
Four, possibly five, members, claiming the event was an 'inappropriate expenditure' of tax resources, boycotted the event which was held in the Clarion Hotel Thursday night on Bonney Road. A source said those not attending were newcomer Lois Williams, Jerri Tata; Les Powell; and Sandra Smith-Jones. It was also reported that newcomer Emma L. Davis did not plan to attend. She could not be reached for comment.
Kathy Phipps, Jenney's public relations skirt, was asked if the event was financed by tax dollars; what the total expected cost was; and how many attendees were expected. "We will notify you of actual costs after the event," she responded.
Asked if the taxpayers were also buying booze for the event, she refused to comment.