HUBERTY ADDRESSES HUMBLE ISD SCHOOL BOARD ABOUT UPCOMING LEGISLATIVE SESSION

By Bruce Olson November 23, 2016

Dan Huberty, the state representative in the Texas House of Representatives for District No. 127, updated the Humble ISD Board of Trustees at their meeting Nov. 8. He focused on his expectations regarding education in the upcoming state legislative session. Huberty is a previous Humble ISD trustee who also served as board president. He now is a member of the Texas House Public Education Committee.

“I told people that this is the first time in five-and-a-half years that the school districts are not suing us,” he said as he began his remarks. He joked about the Humble board waiting until he left the ISD and went to Austin before they joined in a former lawsuit.

Huberty explained the challenging impact of the recent Supreme Court decision that affirmed the state’s education funding system to be constitutional.

“One of the things the Supreme Court said was that even though the system was constitutional, it’s still broken and we have a problem, a big problem,” said Huberty.

He explained that an even bigger problem is a divided legislative body in Austin.

“On one side we have a Senate with one position on how to fix the school system and on the other, a House with a different position. I am not going to speak about what the Senate is planning, but I can tell you what the House is doing,” Huberty said.

He explained the education committee held multiple hearings during the past summer.

“The last one was on school choice and the one before that was a joint hearing with the house appropriations committee specifically about public education and the funding formulas associated with it,” said Huberty.

He explained how the various funding methods created to meet immediate needs as they come up are a major cause of the systemic problems in public education.

“The funding formulas that have been created over the years have just been Band Aids on top of Band Aids and have never really fixed the system,” said Huberty. He compared it to the various pieces of a puzzle, all handled differently and never completely put together correctly to solve the puzzle. The result is a broken system.

“Many of us believe we have to fix the system that currently exists,” he said, and explained to do so will require fixing the entire allotment method of distribution of state funds to the school districts. He described the situation using the example of Humble ISD, a district with a growing residential population, which is good, but without the big tax-base revenue sources say is necessary to generate proportional revenue growth. Those sources are mostly valuable taxable assets such as the refineries, factories and multi-million-dollar office buildings located outside of the district where the children live and go to school. The Band Aids of the past, including allotting specific sources of revenue from outside of these districts, are now inadequate to meet the growing needs of too many school districts.

“These are the issues we are going to try to tackle in the legislative session. There are other major issues, including school choice and changing/updating special education resources, but Joe Straus, our speaker of the house, has made fixing the funding issues the priority. I encourage you to get your plans together with other school districts to strongly represent your position when you come up to the legislature. If we could just get everybody on the same page, we could fix it. Unfortunately, you have big school districts, suburban school districts, rural school districts and mid-cap districts and they all want something different. It is going to be a challenge,” said Huberty.

School board meetings are normally held at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month at the Humble ISD Administration Building, 20200 Eastway Village Dr. They are open to the public and agendas are posted on the district website humbleisd.net.

BOARD RECOGNIZES TEACHERS, LAUDS GRANTS

By Bruce Olson September 28, 2016

The Humble Independent School District Board of Trustees dedicated the greater part of its September meeting to recognizing its middle and high school Teachers of the Year for 2016-17 and the district’s top Advanced Placement students. It also announced a number of grants and funds totaling more than $1.675 million. The money will be used in the coming school year for specific programs, including new clean-air diesel buses. Humble ISD will honor elementary teachers next month.

Administrators Melissa Hayhurst and Trey Kraemer made individual presentations to the Teachers of the Year. Hayhurst described the importance of good teachers at the middle school level.

Brent Colescott, chair of the Humble ISD Education Foundation, highlighted the contribution of $100,000 awarded to the district by H-E-B for winning the coveted H-E-B Best Large School District in the State of Texas. “For the first time ever we were able to have two Prize Posse Days,” Colescott said. “Prize Posse Days are those special days when The Humble ISD Education Foundation, alongside dozens of volunteers and donors, enter classrooms with pom poms, hand clappers, and giant checks to recognize the hard work and innovation of the Humble ISD educators.”

In addition to the money represented in the Prize Posse Day awards, $444,271 was donated to campuses that have annual fundraising campaigns and $539,182 was donated by companies and individual donors to support designated projects throughout the district.

The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) provided the district with a grant to help replace five old diesel-powered buses with new “clean diesel” buses that meet strict Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines.

.Dr. Charles Ned, the district’s director of advanced academics, presented a report of outstanding performance throughout the district in the Advanced Placement (AP) program that is available for students who desire to earn advance credit toward college. He explained it is a voluntary program that can save parents and students up to thousands of dollars in tuition and college costs by earning advance credit. Last year more than 6,400 exams were taken by 2,624 students, a 26-percent increase over the previous year. Ned announced that 59 percent of the students who participated outperformed the state’s overall average performance and the total potential college credits earned by these students was a 100 percent increase over the previous year.

“Our kids did great,” Ned said.

School board meetings are normally held at 7 p.m., the second Tuesday of each month at the Humble ISD Administration Building, 20200 Eastway Village Dr. They are open to the public and agendas are posted on the district website: humbleisd.net. DUTTON RECOGNIZED BY TASB

By Bruce Olson August 31, 2016

On Aug, 22, the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) presented Huffman ISD Trustee Matt Dutton with a Certificate of Leadership. The recognition was made at the opening of the monthly board meeting by Carla Windfont, a board trustee from Crosby ISD, representing the statewide organization.

“We, as board of trustee members and as fellow educators, ask our teachers and everyone to continue their education. As a school board trustee, we do it with volunteer hours and not as paid services. This particular board member spent six months last year learning how to go across districts and see best practices for school board members – best practices on how you collaborate and research tough subjects that you are passionate about and then to advocate for them,” said Windfont as she called Dutton forward.

Windfont highlighted Dutton’s work as a participant in the program, which included visits to other school districts and board members around the state. Dutton then presented informative reports about other district policies and best practices to Huffman’s trustees.

“It is a great honor, as a neighbor, to say he has earned the title of Master Trustee,” Windfont said as she presented Dutton with a certificate of recognition.

Following the presentation, Asst. Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Joel Nolte recapped the attendance on the first day of school.

“This afternoon our first day was 3,370 students, which is very similar to last year when the number was 3,374,” Nolte said.

He said the number, as in the past, would rise during the first week or two before stabilizing. During the past three years the number had increased in a range of 50 to 150 students. Nolte assured the board that the district was set up to handle those numbers going into the rest of the year.

Nolte also updated the board on progress toward becoming a District of Innovation, which the trustees had authorized in its previous meeting to evaluate and move forward.

“We got a lot done,” Nolte said.

He said the District of Innovation Committee was created Aug. 1 and met Aug. 11. The committee included teachers, parents, campus administration and local business owners. As a result of its evaluation and reviews, the committee prepared a formal plan for the board to consider as a recommendation to go forward.

The plan consists of the three activities Huffman ISD will take responsibility for to set policy rather than to rely on state mandated requirements. They are teacher certification and career education instructors, the length of the instructional day, and class size and notice of class size.

After discussion, the trustees advised the committee to move forward. The next step is to publicly post the plan for 30 days on the district website, review public input and incorporate as appropriate, submit it to the District-wide Education Improvement Council and advise appropriate state education agencies of the action. The plan will be in effect for five years.

When asked when the plan would take effect, Nolte explained the target to get it approved is October. He said the specific date, whether in October or a little later, will depend on getting the program fully explained to parents, residents, teachers and staff.

In other business, the board approved the purchase of the first three of the six buses approved in the 2016 bond issue and authorized a student trip to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. The Falconette dance team, choir and band will take the trip during the March spring break in 2017. The trip will be fully paid through fundraising events, the booster club and individual payment.

The next Board of Trustees Meeting will be Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. in the Board Room of the Administration Building, 24302 FM 2100.

TASB SCHOOL BOARD GETS BOND SALE REPORT, APPROVES DOI PLAN

By Michelle Barrett August 17, 2016

The newly reorganized Humble ISD Board of Trustees began the regular school board meeting Aug. 9 with recognition of an outstanding group of International Baccalaureate Diploma recipients. Director of Advanced Academics Dr. Charles Ned presented the IB diplomas to nine members of the class of 2016 from the district.

Carla Mills Winfont, of Crosby ISD, then surprised board member Angela Conrad with the Master Trustee Certificate. Conrad later expressed her appreciation for the certification and spoke about the relationships built among other Trustees, and the positive learning experience.

During the individual comment and recognition portion of the meeting, there were many warm remarks directed toward Executive Assistant Peggy Young.

Announcing Young’s retirement, Trustee Robert Sitton said, “We always talk about the team of eight, but we probably should have been saying team of nine, because you’ve been very instrumental in helping us do what we do. And in the end, it helps the kids grow.”

Keith Lapeze also expressed his feelings at Young’s departure.

“Peggy, we are going to miss you, terribly, terribly. And being president this year, I’m a little disappointed that you’re not going to be around,” said Lapeze.

Amid laughter, tears and hugs, the trustees then presented Young with a crystal bowl.

As they moved on to regular business, Terrell Palmer, managing director with First Southwest, was asked to give an update on the refinancing of bonds from the May 2008 bond election of over $244 million.

“A portion of this sale that we have executed last Tuesday [Aug. 2] was for the final installment of this election. And I’m happy to report that I have seen zero pressure with maintaining that promise that we provided to the public, for keeping our tax rate, or INS tax rate, at 35 cents...It also provides you with an incredible amount of capacity in the future. I think that we’re going to be able to pay off our debt quickly, and have a lot of capacity for additional issuance,” said Palmer.

Calling the sale a “declaration of victory,” Palmer continued, “I look back at our old models in 2008, and with the lower interest rates, with the savings that we were able to achieve with the different refundings, I believe we were able to save over 100 million dollars in interest on our bonds over that period. And so, it really is a success story, a victory, so to speak, with that tax rate model and what your promises were to the public.”

Items on the Board Action Agenda were then brought to vote, and consent was received for all proposed items, including the District of Innovation plan and the Optional Flexible School Day Program. In explanation of the OFSDP, Carol Atwood came forward and gave an overview of the students needing a flexible school schedule. These would include the PACE program, a dropout prevention program, and early college attendance programs, such as the Quest Early College High School program.

School board meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. in the Humble ISD Administration Building, 20200 Eastway Village Drive. They are open to the public. Agendas and live stream recordings can be found humbleisd.net.

SCONZO ATTENDS HIS FINAL BOARD MEETING

By Jacqueline Havelka July 6, 2016

June 14 marked Dr. Guy Sconzo’s last board meeting as superintendant of Humble ISD. A “year in review” slide show was presented, as was a special slide show in tribute to Sconzo. The tribute featured many of Sconzo’s past co-workers in Oklahoma as well as current district employees who expressed sadness at his departure but happiness for his new chapter in retirement.

During the meeting, each board member shared warm words about Sconzo.

Brent Engelage thanked Sconzo for being superintendent while his own daughters were going through Humble ISD, saying ,“Dad, he [Sconzo] says ‘Hi’ at school. He knows who I am!”

“My family appreciates your last 15 years. I was just a volunteer then, and now I have a granddaughter in HISD. My son once joked that he could never do anything because you always recognized him,” said Trustee Charles Cunningham.

Keith Lapeze remarked on what the district was like when Sconzo came in 2001.

“The district was split by north and south of the river, and we desperately needed a bond referendum. At that time it wasn’t about education, but was about budget cuts. You were the right guy at the right time. It wasn’t always fun, but you helped keep us together,” said Lapeze. “Thank God there was no social media then!”

“The slide show reminds us of the positive culmination of all your efforts. In the three years I’ve known you, you have been my mentor and I am forever grateful,” said Heath Rushing.

Angela Conrad described Sconzo as always genuine and welcoming and said she tries to be that way too.

“You’ve taught me so much. I appreciate your guidance and wisdom and wish you the best,” said Conrad.

Robert Sitton concluded the comments by describing Sconzo as “a true friend and mentor” and noted Sconzo’s philanthropic work in the Chamber of Commerce, American Heart Association and the Boy Scouts of America.

Sconzo jokingly teased the crowd, thanking them for enduring the 29th time he has said goodbye.

“When I started, I was an unknown quantity but welcomed nonetheless. Please do the same for my successor. I don’t have the right to ask, but I respectfully ask,” said Sconzo.

Rather than take his full agenda time, Sconzo offered some of it to a group near and dear to his heart, The Humble Area Retired Teachers Association (HARTA). Janet Orth and Carolyn Marshburn spoke about the group’s accomplishments, including two $1,500 scholarships awarded to district students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in education, the Readers Love Teachers program and a book collection drive. The group also recently received a grant from a family foundation, and used the funds to send four teachers to workshops and nine teachers to college classes. HARTA also helps with kindergarten registration, and was the number two group in all of Houston regarding volunteer hours. HARTA had 470 members in 2015-16. Sconzo thanked the speakers and said, “You will at least have 471 next year, because I plan to join!”

RESIDENTS SEEK ANSWERS FROM HUMBLE ISD BOARD OVER HIRING FAGEN

By Jacqueline Havelka June 15, 2016

It was standing-room-only June 8 at the Humble ISD Administration Building when concerned residents met the Humble school board at a public hearing to sort out controversy surrounding the recent naming of Dr. Elizabeth Fagen as the lone finalist for superintendent. Since Humble ISD announced Fagen as their choice to lead the district, residents have besieged the board with emails and calls, protesting the choice. Facebook posts have exploded and a protest march was held at the administration building.

A large crowd of more than 200 people filled the board room and then the lobby and even spilled out into the parking lot.

Keith Lapeze, a board member, delivered a lengthy, 107-page presentation designed to provide background on their decision and to address the many community questions regarding Fagen’s appointment.

Lapeze’s over arching theme of the data-intensive presentation, which is now available on the HISD website, was that the board searched for someone “with many of the same qualities as Dr. Sconzo.” Lapeze went on to say that everyone they interviewed “gushed” over Fagen, but many criticized the Douglas County School District board. He also elaborated on the selection process, stating that each board member researched and interviewed each of the seven candidates in a structured interview process comprised of 24 questions. The three finalists selected by the board were each from districts larger than Humble ISD, and each was willing to accept the job.

The presentation’s focus then turned to the board’s vision for Humble ISD, and addressed five of the community’s main concerns, which include Fagen’s association with school vouchers and market-based pay for teachers.

Next, Fagen’s early career in Iowa, and her later tenure in Tucson were discussed. Lapeze explained that Fagen made a point about asking the Humble ISD board about upcoming policy issues because she, by her own admittance, had not done that thoroughly when interviewing for previous superintendent jobs.

“She was interviewing us as much as we were interviewing her,” Lapeze said.

He also stated that DCSD was growing at a very fast rate and in very poor financial condition when Fagen started, and also pointed to strong unions and their conflict with the DCSD reform board as a major problem inherited by Fagen. He talked about the growing strength of the unions during her six-year tenure, and conveyed that Douglas County persons interviewed described their environment to the Humble ISD board as “nasty, emotional and vicious” and comprised of union front groups who actively railroaded Fagen and campaigned to elect anti-reform board members.

The Tribune contacted one group accused of being such a union front, although not by Lapeze in his presentation. Jason Virdin, spokesperson for Douglas County Parents, stated that as an organization, they do not affiliate with any political party or teacher’s union.

Parents and community members had started convening around 5 p.m. for the board meeting. Some were still standing in the foyer after Lapeze’s three-hour explanation and defense of the board’s position. The meeting was not projected to the television monitors as it normally is during regular board meetings, leaving standing guests straining to both see and hear. After Lapeze’s self-described lengthy presentation, each board member reiterated their support of Fagen.

At long last, at nearly 10 p.m., parents finally got to speak. Facebook posts on the closed-group Humble ISD Parents page indicated that some felt the board was intentionally trying to filibuster and talk down to the people in attendance so they would leave.

Norman Funderburk, who currently serves on the Humble City Council, described himself as a “big stakeholder” since he has had five generations of his family in Humble ISD.

“I’m here at every board meeting to show I care,” said Funderburk. He also cited the “tremendous body of work from this board, which has never been incompatible with the community. I have complete faith and trust in them.”

Some residents addressed the board regarding the amount of community concern.

Mia Hoyt, organizer of the Facebook page Humble ISD Parents said, “We are not merely a small segment of people speaking out.”

In his presentation, Lapeze described the attacks on Fagen as a “coordinated character assassination by a small segment of Douglas County” and said he had researched the people on Facebook and knew they were part of this effort. Humble resident Courtney Eiba challenged Lapeze, asking, “Did you really research all those people and you know for a fact that this is an organized effort?” She continued by saying, “You have severely underestimated us as a community.”

Several residents told Lapeze that his tone was “condescending” and several took offense at Lapeze’s labeling of the Facebook groups as “the Kardashian network.” The Tribune spoke with several members of the Facebook page Humble ISD Parents, who said, “When Fagen was named and Douglas County started posting on the Humble ISD school site, we wanted more information. We only had 15 days until she was officially named, so we had to act fast to get information, and there is no faster way than social media.”

Lapeze later apologized for his tone and his comments.

Curtis McMann said, “The board never said they made a roll-out mistake. We’ve had to fight to get information from the board and I would like that to not be the case going forward.”

While some residents left the meeting, which ended right before midnight, praising Lapeze’s presentation for answering all their questions, others left even more concerned than when they arrived. Resident Francie Stonestreet pleaded for the board to “please rethink” your decision about Fagen, while others called for Fagen to be replaced by one of the other two finalists. Some left dejected, feeling that the board was not hearing the community and that they were resigned to the fact that Fagen would be appointed.

The community is eagerly anticipating what will happen in the remaining six days of the 21-day waiting period. One resident requested a community video conference “town hall” type meeting with Fagen prior to June 14. According to information obtained from Arrow Educational Services, Inc., the 21-day waiting period, required by Texas law, “allows for everyone to research and learn as much as they need to about the ‘lone finalist’ before he/she is formally employed. It also gives the board time to conduct the required criminal background check, and to finalize any contract negotiations. During this period, neither party is under any obligation to follow through.”

HUMBLE ISD'S SEARCH FOR NEW SUPERINTENDENT NARROWS

By Michelle Barrett May 18, 2016

January marked the beginning of the search for a new Humble ISD superintendent to replace Dr Guy Sconzo. Sconzo is retiring after 15 years with the district.

The request was for a candidate with strong ethics, communication ability, decision-making skills, and high integrity. From 43 applicants for the open position, the board selected seven to take part in a first phase of interviewing. Three candidates were chosen for a second phase, with one finalist expected to be announced at the upcoming May 24 regular school board meeting. Current board members traveled to the three finalists’ home districts to conduct research. They will share their findings at an upcoming meeting.

Board member, Robert Sitton, said, “Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, our superintendent search firm, exceeded expectations, both with the quality of applicants brought forward to us and with the thoroughness of their process. Humble ISD benefited from the firm’s experience leading more than 1,000 searches in 38 states. They are experts in the planning, recruitment, selection and appointment of superintendents. The search consultants working with us are Rick Berry, retired superintendent of Cypress-Fairbanks ISD; Nola Wellman, retired superintendent of Eanes ISD, and Peter Flynn, former Illinois superintendent of the year.

“We are especially grateful to the community for supporting Humble ISD by attending one of the 29 superintendent search forums or filling out a survey. The information the community shared became the basis for our next superintendent’s leadership profile, which we used when evaluating and interviewing candidates,” he added.

“The leadership profile was advertised and attracted amazing candidates. There is great interest in joining a school system that has been named the Best Large District in Texas. We truly want to be a model district for the country, building on the strong foundation that has been laid by Dr. Sconzo and his predecessors,” he said.

According to Texas law, school boards are required to announce the lone finalist for superintendent, prior to a 21-day wait, before final acceptance for the position. This would mean that the new superintendent may be appointed at the school board meeting on June 14.

The anticipated start date for Sconzo’s replacement, will be July 1. Sconzo will continue to be a consultant through December 31.

Leadership profile: http://humbleisd.net/Domain/8921

SUPPORTERS FLOOD BOARD MEETING TO DEFENT FILLIES DIRECTOR

By Michelle Barrett April 20, 2016

At the packed Humble ISD board meeting April 12, more than 60 attendees stood in the lobby, as there was standing room only in the board room. Supporters of dismissed Fillies team director April Swenson waited patiently to hear a team member and Fillies dad speak before the board.

Board President Robert Sitton began the open forum by reminding participants that speeches must be kept to five minutes, and limited to only those individuals who had filled out a form allowing them to speak in front of the board. He also explained that the decision concerning Swenson’s position was not a board decision.

“The board does not and will not deliberate in closed session on this matter,” said Sitton. “At this time, you’re allowed to state your concerns, and then it becomes an administrative issue between Dr. Sconzo [Superintendent Dr. Guy Sconzo] and the relative supervisors from that standpoint on.”

Hannah Lam, a National Merit Scholarship finalist and Fillies dance team member, was the first speaker.

“I understand that there are great teachers in our district, but not one of them has taught me near anything that she [Swenson] has taught me about life lessons, leadership communication, and so on,” said Lam. “For me, leadership is something I never really thought that I would be capable of … Ms. Swenson saw that in me, and she saw my potential, and she saw that I was capable of leading a group... She has been the most the most inspirational, and the most life-changing person in my four years of high school.”

After a hearty round of applause, the next speaker was Chad Hoffman, president-elect of the Kingwood Fillies Booster Club.

“I want to let you know that I’m not here to attack the administration,” said Hoffman. “I’m here more about the positive things about April Swenson. I do want to give some context on a couple of things…We’ve kind of been indicated that one of the final straws for April was this complaint about a dance that the officers did at one of the competitions... one thing you do need to know, is that this was a competition back on February 27th. We had one director that made a complaint about, I’ve heard, that one of the officers’ dances was ‘too risqué’. In the 18 years that I’ve been a dance dad, I’ve seen much worse … and really just represents the art of dance … a director who’s always striving to go to her audience and get them interested... Unfortunately, there was somebody with some sour grapes and that’s where we’re at.”

He expressed concern that Swenson was not given proper time to respond to issues surrounding her dismissal and said he hoped that would be rectified.

“Her contributions have been the hundreds upon hundreds of young women that are out there in the world today, representing … she has developed these women artistically, intellectually, emotionally, physically and socially. Given her contributions … it would be a shame that the embodiment of that mission statement, were to be let go.”

The final speaker was Eileen Bell, co-chair of the annual fund of Kingwood High School, and the parent of two Kingwood students, who spoke in defense of KHS Principal Dr. Ted Landry.

“I’ve witnessed his dedication to his students, his willingness to go the extra mile,” said Bell. “He … has helped raise over $100,000 for Kingwood High School and their teachers and students … He has slept on the roof overnight, on two occasions, with very little supplies to support his students … Last year he spent an entire week bleeding blue for our students, going to do everything from swimming, running, aerospace, marching with the band, German folk dancing, singing with the choir, and even dancing with the Fillies … To quote one of Dr. Landry’s teachers at open house, ‘If you don’t know Dr. Landry, you should get to know him. He is what is best in education. Maybe it’s because he’s an ex-Marine, but I would follow him into battle.’ And that’s from one of his teachers.”

After agenda items were complete, board members addressed the group.

“I just want to thank the speakers tonight for their time and their thoughtful comments,” said Trustee Keith Lapeze. “I appreciate when there are disputes, especially in the district, that it’s done with respect, like it was tonight. And that’s how points are made, and issues are taken up and considered. If it’s not done with respect, then you lose your advocacy position and points … Well done.”

When asked what one Fillie mom hoped would be accomplished by the night’s displays of support, Nicky Potgieter said, “Well, I would hope they would overturn the decision.”

The next Humble ISD meeting will be held Tuesday, May 10, at the Humble ISD Administration Building located at 20200, Eastway Village Drive, Humble. PARENTS FLOOD BOARD MEETING

By Bruce Olson March 23, 2016

After hearing from more than a dozen speakers opposed to redrawing attendance zones that affect Humble and Summer Creek high schoolers, the Humble Independent School Board proceeded with changing district attendance zones. Upset opponents, limited to three minutes each due to the large number of people addressing the issue, spoke one after another.

“My ultimate concern is in splitting neighborhoods even though I know we have an explosion of growth along the West Lake Houston corridor and specifically in ,” said one parent.

Another said, “With all the residential areas you are going to bring into it (), it is going to be super crowded. So it’s not a ‘win’ situation for the children and that’s what we’re here about in the first place. It’s for the children.”

Another parent explained where she had chosen to live inside the district was based on where she was told her children would go to high school.

“I chose because I wanted my kids to go to Summer Creek, not Humble High,” she said.

That same logic was echoed by several of the other speakers.

“Everyone needs to be treated equally. I am not sure who brought this proposition on but please, please disapprove it because it is not fair across the board,” said another frustrated parent.

Superintendent Dr. Guy Sconzo addressed the crowd.

“So there is no question and it is clear to everyone, the recommendation for this boundary change is my recommendation. I stand by that recommendation,” Sconzo said.

He explained that two major reasons were behind this proposed change.

“First, I believe we have to be at a place where, before we turn to our community and ask for their support for the construction of new campuses, that we know we need, that we have demonstrated, we are fully utilizing all the facilities that we currently have,” he said.

“Secondly, it’s preparing for growth. It’s very obvious, we are back into an accelerated growth situation where we were six or seven years ago. It has been quite normal for our district to grow between 800 and 1,000 students a year. We are on the verge of growing more in the neighborhood of 1,500 to 1,700 students a year,” Sconzo said

“Quite frankly, I expect at our April board meeting to be bringing you an elementary school boundary change in Kingwood,” Sconzo said.

“In all my experience, in any boundary change we never hit every target. The reality is that neighborhoods and children don’t come in perfect numbered packages. At the end of the day, wherever a child goes to school, it mostly is about what happens within the walls of that school as it relates to teaching and learning,” Sconzo said.

The board approved the recommendations unanimously.

Current ninth-through 11th graders who are already attending Summer Creek High School will stay at Summer Creek High School through graduation. For Humble Middle School students with siblings currently attending Summer Creek High School, parents may submit a request through the General Transfer Process (humbleisd.net/studenttransfers.) Applications from eighth-graders with siblings currently at Summer Creek High School are due Friday, April 1. For eighth- graders at Humble Middle School, counselors at Humble High School have already received their high school course selections. Humble High School will host a “Wildcat Open House” for all incoming freshmen at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 28. A notice will be sent out in April inviting Humble Middle School eighth-grade families to the Wildcat Open House.

BOARD APPROVES NEW CALENDAR

By Bruce Olson February 24, 2016

Kingwood High School’s debate team has achieved world-class status in forensic debate. Last year it did well at the Harvard National Forensics Tournament. This year its team will compete against international teams representing countries from all over the Americas. Humble ISD Trustee Robert Sitton recognized the accomplishment on behalf of the board at its February meeting.

“Dr. Ted Landry (Kingwood High School principal) is in the audience and he has a lot to be proud of today,” said Sitton. “Kingwood High School’s Debate Team has been invited to compete in the Pan American Schools Championships in Vancouver, Canada. This is an international tournament to prepare national teams for the World Schools Championships in Germany this summer. Kingwood High School is the only team representing a single high school and not an entire country, so hats off to Dr. Landry and his kids at Kingwood High School.”

The students making up the team include Morgan Lee, a junior; Reese Grayson, a senior; junior Colette Faulkner; along with designated alternates Connor Smith and Gaurav Gawanker, both juniors. The team is coached by Audra and Jason Langston.

The board also recognized Humble Middle School with a standing ovation for an unexpected accomplishment.

“Trustees, as of just a few minutes ago, we were treated with what I think is a significant and pleasant surprise, so I am going to ask our district facilitator, Sally Wagner, and Humble Middle School Principal Henry Phipps to share with everyone what literally just happened,” said Superintendent Dr. Guy Sconzo.

Together Wagner and Phipps unveiled a large banner. It named Humble Middle School an “AVID National Demonstration School.” AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the achievement gap by preparing all students for college and other post-secondary opportunities. Established more than 30 years ago, it now impacts more than 800,000 students in participating schools in 44 states and 16 other countries and territories. The AVID National Validation Team made the announcement based on auditing and evaluating almost 5,000 campuses in the nation. The honor is earned by less than 2 percent of the schools that have AVID programs. Humble ISD is now the recipient of two of these coveted recognitions. Timberwood Middle School earned the distinction in 2014.

“Humble Middle School did a great job and I am so, so proud of Mr. Phipps and all the teachers and staff members,” said Wagner.

In other business the board approved the school calendar for the 2016-2017 school year and were provided with a comprehensive report on projected growth and demographics.

The calendar was adjusted to meet new state law requirements governing hours of classroom teaching rather than required school days and to ensure compliance with next year’s state testing requirements. The first day of the fall semester will be Monday, Aug 22, 2016.

The report was prepared by Population Survey Analysts Inc. (PASA.) It includes data and information about district area housing trends, economic factors, and population changes that will enable the district to evaluate and redefine, as necessary, projections for new campuses, utilization of existing campuses and general overall planning.

The study was made because of the possible impact of the current downturn of the greater Houston-area economy. Dr. Pat Gusman, president of PASA, summarized the report by noting although other adjacent school districts may be adversely affected, the original growth projections that Humble ISD has been using continue to be on target until at least 2020.

“Not only is Humble ISD experiencing new home growth, we are also seeing a regeneration in some portions of the district where families with young children are moving in. At this time we are seeing a 3 percent growth as the average of the last four years.” Gusman said.

School board meetings are normally held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Humble ISD Administration Building, 20200 Eastway Village Drive. They are open to the public and agendas are posted on the district website at humbleisd.net.

HUMBLE ISD BEGINS SEARCH FOR NEW LEADERSHIP

By Cynthia Calvert February 10, 2016

Humble ISD Superintendent Dr. Guy Sconzo announced his retirement at the December board meeting.

The school board immediately began the process of searching for the district’s new leader. Sconzo said he will actually retire at the end of the year, effective December 31, 2016. He wanted to give the board more than sufficient time to search and decide the next superintendent.

“My last day as superintendent will be the day before a new superintendent reports to work. On that day, and through December 31, 2016, I will then serve as a transition consultant to the board and the new superintendent,” Sconzo told the board in December.

Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates executive search firm has been hired by the board to perform a national search for candidates. According to the district, the firm brings more than 25 years of service to school districts and has conducted more than 1,000 searches and placements of educational executives. The search consultants are advising the school board in planning for the superintendent search, recruiting candidates nationally, counseling on selection protocols and processes, and assisting with the final appointment of Humble ISD’s new superintendent.

The firm has conducted superintendent searches for many other school boards in Texas including Alamo Heights, Austin, Carroll, Dallas, Fort Bend, Lewisville, Northside, Plano, Round Rock and Spring.

The consultants working with the Humble ISD Board are Rick Berry, retired superintendent of Cypress-Fairbanks ISD; Nola Wellman, retired superintendent of Eanes ISD; and Peter Flynn, former Illinois Superintendent of the Year.

The firm’s fee is $37,500.

The search process began in January and is anticipated to take about six months. Community members are encouraged to assist the school board by completing an online survey at humbleisd.net. Survey results will help determine the desired characteristics of Humble ISD’s next superintendent. In addition, community members can help by attending three public forums that the search consultants will be facilitating. Community members are invited to participate in the forums to be held:

• 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, in the Humble ISD Board Room, 20200 Eastway Village Drive, Humble, 77338; • 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, at Red House LGI, 13300 Will Clayton Parkway, Humble, 77346. Community members should park near the Performing Arts Center/Athletic Entrance for convenience.

• 8:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 19, in the Humble ISD Board Room, 20200 Eastway Village Drive, Humble, 77338.

The superintendent search consultants will also be holding approximately 20 meetings this month with groups of students, parents, teachers, staff and community organizations. The survey and meetings help define the selection criteria. This process will continue through early March. After that, the search consultants will recruit and conduct background checks on candidates. Ultimately, our school board will meet with the best qualified candidates to select Humble ISD’s next superintendent.

The job description will be developed after input has been obtained through the survey and superintendent search forum meetings. The salary will be regionally competitive.

Sconzo joined Humble ISD as superintendent in June 2001. He came to Texas from Oklahoma, where he was interim superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools. A former high school English teacher, Sconzo was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Wagner College, his master’s degree at New York University, and his Ph.D. at Ohio State University. Sconzo is a former superintendent of Nordonia Hills Public Schools in Ohio and Middletown Public Schools in New Jersey. At Oklahoma City Public Schools, he served as a middle school principal, director of middle schools, assistant superintendent, and associate superintendent. He was named interim superintendent of the 40,500-student district in April of 2000. While in Oklahoma, Sconzo also served as an adjunct professor for Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma City University and the University of Central Oklahoma.

HUFFMAN ISD REVERSES DECISION ON GPA WEIGHTS

By Bruce Olson February 10, 2016

The Huffman Independent School District Board of Trustees approved returning the district’s grade point average (GPA) scale back to a “6.0” format at its Jan.18 meeting. Assistant Superintendent Joel Nolte explained changing back to the original format that was changed in October to take effect with the current ninth-grade freshman class.

“After careful consideration and obtaining feedback from parents, we are recommending revising one of the changes we requested back in October, specifically the change concerning GPA scales. We would like to use the 6.0, 5.0 and 4.0 scales for all our students, including those graduating in 2019 and beyond,” Nolte said.

“Last October, we changed about four or five things, primarily what courses were going to be weighted and how we designed our scale. In the past, an AP (Advance Placement) course got a 6.0 weight, a Pre-AP course 5.0 and a regular course 4.0,” Nolte said. He explained as part of the overall policy changes in October, the scale used to determine class rank was compressed into a maximum range value of five points. That change affected nothing else in the ranking methodology or the ranking policy itself. He pointed out that for college acceptance purposes the general 4.0 grade point measurement system applied to all classes and subjects when used to determine GPAs for comparing schools but not necessarily for determining student class rankings within any given school. Most school districts, including Huffman, generally use a more expansive scale to take into account differences in the difficulty of AP, Pre-AP and regular courses within subject areas such as English or math.

Nolte explained academic weighting considerations are especially important for use in determining class rank for purposes of selecting a valedictorian and salutatorian at graduation and for various other recognitions, prerequisites and incentives. The October policy changed AP classes from a 6-point weighted value to a 5-point value and Pre-AP classes from a 5-point value to a 4.5-value. Regular classes remained valued at 4.0. Following the approval of the changes in late October and reported in the Tribune Nov. 11, the administration began receiving feedback and concerns from district parents. The concerns centered on likely confusion and misunderstanding with two grade scales used for the same purpose, but for different classes at the high school during the three years it would take to implement the new 5-point scale beginning with this year’s freshman class.

After hearing the concerns, the administration confirmed returning to the previous 6-point scale and recommended the change to the board.

In other business, the board approved deeding over unused property in Liberty to Liberty Independent School District in trust. Chief financial officer Tim Brittain explained Huffman ISD was a former member of the Gulf Coast Education Consortium, but has not been active in the consortium for at least five years. The consortium is now being dissolved and the property housing the facility is going to be used as a Lee College campus.

“All districts with an interest in the property have to deed their interest in the property to Liberty ISD in trust. We have consulted with our attorney regarding this matter and feel it is in the best interest of Huffman ISD to deed the property to Liberty ISD for use with Lee College since it is not useful to us currently,” said Brittain.

The board agreed and voted its approval.

The next Board of Trustees meeting will be Monday, Feb. 15.

DISTRICT CELEBRATES BOARD

By John A. Crone January 27, 2016

The Humble Independent School District Board of Trustees celebrated School Board Recognition Month at last week’s meeting. Recognition was given to the board and its members from several parts of the school district family.

Superintendent Dr. Guy Sconzo thanked the board for their hours of service and dedication as he introduced a student-produced video of students from across the district, singing and dancing to the lyrics of “Thank You for Being a Friend.” The video was produced at Kingwood High School.

Also included in the lineup of district entities recognizing the School Board were fifth-grade students from Lakeland Elementary School. The artists presented portrait drawings of each board member. Members were touched by the individual efforts and personalized gifts.

Gifts of recognition were also presented by several schools within the district, by officers of the Association of Texas Professional Educators and by FFA members from school chapters.

High school students from each of the high schools made a joint presentation. Speakers included Jaylene Cardenas, Guadalupe Hernandez, Brownwyyn McGill and Jenna Fold.

To top off the presentations, Sconzo reported that the district had received notification that the Humble ISD School Board has been named a State Finalist in the School Board category of the 2016 H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards. The board is competing in a group of just five school boards statewide. There are more than 1,000 school boards in Texas. The state winner will be announced May 13. “This is a huge honor for our board,” Sconzo said. “This is the second consecutive year that the Humble ISD School Board has been chosen as one of five state finalists in the School Board category.”

Each of the members thanked all of the participants and concluded that School Board Recognition Month is a highlight of the year for the board, noting they work for the students and appreciate the response from the schools.

Super Staffers were also honored.

Honored as Super Staffers for December were:

Taylor Tatum – Foster Elementary third-grade teacher.

Rodney Gray – Ross Sterling Middle School coach/Adaptive Behavior

Matt Smith – ISC coordinator of Affective Education.

In other business, the board voted to retain the services of Hazard, Young Atlea & Associates to assist them in their search for a new superintendent to replace Sconzo who is retiring this year. Sconzo thanked the board for their diligence in making that choice. He emphasized the expertise of the three consultants that were assigned to the Humble search efforts, noting all three were former superintendents themselves.

In final business, Vice President Keith Lapeze reviewed the history of the board’s governance policies. He noted that the board had changed to a governance policy emphasizing committee work, with results and recommendations coming to the board for discussion and approval.

Lapeze also noted that newly established procedures allowed each board member to place items on the board’s agenda.

“I had originally been hesitant about the changes, but now looking back, I see that it was a good change,” said Lapeze. He suggested that the board do a more thorough review of the governance system at the August Team Building meeting.

School board meetings are normally held at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month at the Humble ISD Administration Building, 20200 Eastway Village Dr., Humble. Meetings are open to the public and agendas are posted at least 72 hours in advance on the district website: humbleisd.net.

HUFFMAN SCHOOL BOARD RECEIVES FIRST TEACHER GRANTS

By Bruce Olson January 13, 2016

At the December Board of Trustees meeting, the Huffman Independent School District Director of Human Resources and Communications, Dr. Shirley Hitt Dupree, speaking as executive director of the Huffman Education Foundation, presented a check for $14,250 to the school district. The money is to be used for funding four educational development programs submitted by teachers in the district. Dupree explained it was the first money awarded in the foundation’s planned ongoing grant program.

“I just can’t say enough. The money raised through contributions far exceeded our expectations and our goal. We had hoped to be able to hand out a $1,000 grant per teacher for the first semester and, well, it was almost doubled,” said Dupree.

Dupree said the foundation still has some of the money originally raised in reserve to support more ongoing contribution efforts. She explained the process began in October when Huffman ISD teachers were introduced to the program, its expectations and the process and timelines. The grant applications were due Nov. 18. They were reviewed by the foundation’s grant committee and award decisions were made based on initial expectations of the projects as described in the applications. The grant money is to be distributed in the spring semester to fund the projects as required by the teachers.

Dupree explained the foundation announced the winners by having its members go to the winning teachers’ classrooms during class to present the awards in the form of big check facsimiles to the teachers and their students. The presentations themselves generated a high degree of interest and enthusiasm. The four winning projects and the teachers winning the awards were:

Breaking the Spanish Barrier: Authentic Language with iPad Minis; at Hargrave High School: $4,970 awarded to Lisa Acker, Abigail Grigonis and Gerardo Moreno.

HMS News for the students, by the students; at Huffman Middle School: $900 awarded to Melissa Rickli.

Robotics Club, to create a new club for building robots that can accomplish a given challenge Copeland Elementary school and Huffman Intermediate school: $2,400 awarded to Trina Gore, Mark Bonilla and Renee’ Wilkens.

Technology for Art Students: at Hargrave High School: $6,000 awarded to Nani Heslep.

“Everyone is really excited about moving on to the next semester and raising more money so we can do this again in the spring,” Dupree said. She explained the grants depend on fundraising and if people would like to donate, they may visit the district’s website at huffmanisd.net to get details on donating. Or they may mail donations to Huffman Education Foundation, PO Box 2390, Huffman, TX 77336. The trustees graciously agreed to accept the grants and thanked Dupree and the foundation for creating the grant program.

In other business, just prior to the formal opening of the meeting, Superintendent Benny Soileau called current District Six Trustee Matt Dutton forward from his boardroom chair as his wife and two children unexpectedly entered the room.

“Mr. Dutton, c’mon down here,” Soileau said to an obviously surprised Dutton. With his family at his side, Soileau and current Board President Patrick Keith presented Dutton with a plaque containing a Board President’s Gavel and an engraved inscription of thanks and appreciatiation.

“We want to take this opportunity tonight after our board reorganization to thank someone who has served us incredibly well over the last two years as president here in Huffman. We are proud to have him on our board of trustees,” said Soileau.

Dutton, who will continue to serve as the District Six Trustee, thanked his wife and family for their patience and understanding over the last two year as he carried out his duties.

“I love this district,” said Dutton. “I love Huffman. I am happy to have done it. I would do it again. It was well worth any sacrifice I made. I enjoy being a part of this and appreciate everybody here.”

The next board meeting will be Monday, Jan.18, at 7 p.m. in the board room of the Huffman ISD Administration Building, 24302 FM 2100.