Lynn Walsh

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Houston public schools face cuts of up to $348M a year due to state budget woes
Thursday, Jan 20, 2011, 01:55PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Do you have suggestions on how HISD can cut back on spending? Texas Watchdog wants to hear from you. Contact Lynn Walsh, Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or @LWalsh on Twitter.

A story produced for Texas Watchdog:

Audit report recommends axing nearly half of Houston ISD’s magnet schools
Friday, Jan 07, 2011, 04:56PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Almost half of the Houston public schools’ 113 magnet programs have been recommended for the chopping block by an outside group brought in by the school district.

The final report from Magnet Schools of America highlights 55 magnet programs the third-party national education group believes the Houston Independent School District should eliminate — a move that would save the district nearly $8 million in magnet funding. HISD spends $17 million a year on magnet programs.

“This is just a springboard,” HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said Friday. “Trustees and staff have to look at where we are, be honest and analyze that what we are doing is best for all kids in the district. There will be some tweaks to this. These are all just recommendations.”

MSA recommended eliminating magnet programs that do not meet its requirements for a magnet program, schools having limited building capacity and schools that are part of the district’s school turn-around program, Apollo 20.

HISD trustees will ultimately have the final say on what changes, if any, happen with HISD’s magnet program.

MSA recommends that changes start in the 2011-12 school year — during that year, HISD school buses would continue to ferry students back and forth to the magnet programs recommended for elimination, and those schools would continue to receive 40% of their total magnet funding that year. But when that school year ends, all funding to those programs would cease, according to MSA’s recommendations.

(View all of the documents associated with the MSA review here. Texas Watchdog has also created a database with funding information, MSA recommendations and state accountability ratings here.)

Criticism over the amount of money HISD spends on magnet programs — some of which are at failing schools — coupled with the overall effectiveness of the programs and the funding discrepancies between the programs prompted the MSA review process, which began in October.

“We have magnets that were never authorized to be magnets,” Grier said Friday. “I believe to be a magnet school, you ought to be an exemplary school.”
Houston ISD 2011 magnet school audit documentstexaswatchdog

*
236 p.
HISD MSA magnet review Individual School Summaries From: texaswatchdog Reads: 104
*
4 p.
Outside Consultants Suggest Plan for HISD Magnet Schools From: texaswatchdog Reads: 112
*
6 p.
Houston ISD 2011 magnet audit – current proposed magnet schools 2011 From: texaswatchdog Reads: 65
*
46 p.
Houston ISD 2011 magnet school audit — attachment Phase I/Phase II/Interim From: texaswatchdog Reads: 46
*
79 p.
Houston ISD magnet school audit final report Jan. 6, 2011 From: texaswatchdog Reads: 56
*
143 p.
Houston ISD 2011 magnet school audit Magnet Demographics Charts From: texaswatchdog Reads: 48
*
2 p.
Houston ISD 2011 magnet school audit magnet letter- parents From: texaswatchdog Reads: 35
*
2 p.
Houston ISD 2011 magnet school audit FAQ From: texaswatchdog Reads: 38
*
10 p.
Houston ISD 2011 magnet school audit principal’s meeting briefing From: texaswatchdog Reads: 46
*
1 p.
HISD 2011 Magnet School Audit School Feedback Form From: texaswatchdog Reads: 26

+ Add your documents to this collection
Create and share your own collection on Scribd

Grier also said that some of the schools are spending magnet money on non-magnet expenses like school nurses. When asked how this could have happened, Grier said he wants to focus on the future.

“We need to develop a better accountability system, and we will do that,” Grier said. “MSA recommends a magnet review every five years. Frankly, I think it should be every three years.”

This MSA review cost the district $269,000, the school district said.

Grier said some principals have said the information and data used by MSA was inaccurate. While he does not suspect widespread data problems, Grier said there could be some.

“Help us correct it,” Grier said. “Let us know so we can fix it.” Most of the errors, he said, were due to incomplete data and data-entry flaws.

According to HISD, 42,000 students are enrolled in magnet programs this year. HISD says it plans on holding community forums in different areas of the city to obtain feedback from parents and community members.

HISD trustees are also set to discuss the magnet review at a board workshop Monday. Follow @TexasWatchdog on Twitter for live updates during the meeting or search for #HISD.

Is your child’s magnet school one of the 55 on the list recommended for closure in the new magnet audit? Texas Watchdog wants to hear from you. Contact Lynn Walsh, Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or @LWalsh on Twitter.

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Houston ISD warned of major cuts looming due to state budget deficit, stimulus drying up
Friday, Nov 05, 2010, 08:20AM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Houston’s public school system is bracing for massive budget cuts from the state’s looming multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall and the cut off of millions of dollars in federal stimulus cash, the school district’s top financial officer said Thursday.

“The cuts could range from $70 million to $163 million” over two years, said Melinda Garrett, the Houston Independent School District’s chief financial officer. “It all depends on what formula is used.”

By those estimates, the school district, which educates more than 200,000 children, could receive $35 million-$81.5 million less in state funding next year alone.

Everything will be on the table when it comes time to make cuts, Garrett told HISD trustees, including individual school funding, central staffing and police and transportation. She promised to provide trustees budget updates at least once a month.

The amount of money the school system gets from the state is determined by a formula outlined by the Texas Legislature every two years. Funding for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years will be determined during the next legislative session, which begins in January.

The Houston school district is required by law to adopt a budget by June 30, 2011, Garrett said — but the legislature probably won’t adopt a school funding formula until after June 30.

“We are going to have to prepare the budget to anticipate the shortfalls,” Garrett said. “It could (mean) adopting a budget and going back to amend it.”

Garrett and the rest of HISD are not completely in the dark, though. According to her presentation, the district is sure about a few things:

* The state budget shortfall is estimated to be between $11-$25 billion.
* A portion of HISD’s budget is being bankrolled by federal stimulus funds, which will be gone be the end of 2011. (Earlier Thursday, the trustees agreed to use stimulus money to pay for the bulk of the district’s 2011 summer school costs.)
* Health insurance costs for school employees will require a budget increase in 2011-12.
* HISD expects cuts to Texas Education Agency grant programs as those funds are used to balance the state budget.

Texas Watchdog will be following the budget process in HISD, and we want to hear what you think about how the district is spending money. Contact Lynn Walsh at Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org or on Twitter @LWalsh.

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Stimulus cash to fund Houston ISD summer school
Thursday, Nov 04, 2010, 05:08PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Millions of dollars in federal stimulus money is being set aside to fund Houston Independent School District summer school programs this year — though it’ll be millions less than the district has spent in previous years, which could mean fewer summer programs offered at fewer schools and to fewer students.

HISD administrators are recommending the move as the district’s go-to summer school funding sources dry up — that’s no small amount of money, as roughly one HISD student in four attended summer school last year. To fill the gap the district plans on using $14 million in federal stimulus money.

“This money will not be here next year,” HISD’s chief financial officer, Melinda Garrett, said. “The stimulus money is gone, and we will need to find other money to fund summer school in the future.”

The stimulus money, paired with an additional $2.4 million drawn from special education funds, will nearly cover all of the estimated $16.4 million cost of 2011 summer school. The school district, which has more than 200,000 students, had nearly 55,000 kids in summer school last year, and teachers’ salaries is the largest expense for it.

The $14 million proposed to HISD trustees Thursday is a big jump from what administrators were proposing in July: just $1.9 million.

In July e-mails and presentation documents Texas Watchdog obtained through the state public information act, HISD was planning to nearly wipe out district funding for summer school, slashing it from $21 million to just $1.9 million. And to make up for the cuts, the district had planed on making the individual schools largely pay their own way for summer programs.

Instead, the school system is plugging the hole with stimulus cash aimed at boosting achievement among poor students.

HISD’s chief academic officer, Chuck Morris, said individual schools will still have to use money from their own budgets to cover the costs of enrichment programs for students who are passing classes and moving forward a grade level but who want extra academic experiences over the summer.

According to HISD, last year’s summer school programs cost $21.2 million in Title I funding. This year the district expects to serve close to 700 fewer students than last year, 54,140, and spend close to $7 million less.

In order to do more with less, Morris suggests date changes, satellite campuses and a trustee-approved service priority list which would give priority to students needing to pass state proficiency tests. According to the recommendations, priority would be given in the following order:

* Fifth and eighth-grade students who need to re-take the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test.
* Students failing to be promoted to the next grade level.
* High school seniors who still need to meet graduation requirements and/or pass TAKS.
* High school juniors who are not on schedule to graduate on time.
* Ninth graders who have failed three or more courses.
* Students who speak English as a second language who are in transition.
* Students one or more years behind in reading or math.

The $14 million will be used to cover the costs of programs associated with those priorities. Most of the money will be used to cover the cost of teacher salaries during the summer months.

Morris, HISD Superintendent Terry Grier and other administrators made it clear that individual schools can opt to fund additional programs to serve students outside he priority list — but the funding must come from the individual schools’ budgets or be paid for through tuition fees.

What do you think about the way HISD is planning on funding summer school? Texas Watchdog wants to hear from you. Contact Lynn Walsh, Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh.

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Review of HISD’s magnet schools states the obvious: Problems with funding, standards in Houston’s public schools

Monday, Nov 01, 2010, 04:38PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

The Houston public schools’ 100-plus magnet programs suffer from funding discrepancies, a lack of standard guidelines and requirements for programs and no district-wide answer to what being a “successful” magnet means, according to a preliminary review of the district’s magnet programs.

All three observations have been previously made by Houston Independent School District trustees and staff, parents and the media.

The report by Magnet Schools of America outlines 10 “emerging themes” the education nonprofit has found in HISD’s $17 million magnet program. After meeting with HISD trustees and administration and holding parent and community forums throughout October, MSA, which will receive up to $275,000 for the magnet review, has come to the following “preliminary” conclusions:

* HISD magnet programs lack equitable funding.
* There are no standard magnet guidelines or requirements in place for HISD magnet programs.
* HISD is not able to define what being a “successful” magnet school means.
* HISD magnet programs have strong parent involvement and district leadership support.
* There is concern over the inconsistent quality of magnet programs in HISD.

Last month, former HISD magnet chief Dottie Bonner, told Texas Watchdog that “there is not a written formula at all, and even back then, there was not a whole lot of sense to how it was given.” Bonner served as the head of HISD’s magnets for seven years.

To see the funding discrepancies for yourself, Texas Watchdog published the most recent funding data for HISD magnet programs here.

According to MSA, the next report will include more detailed information including data collected during the community and parent forums.

“All information collected was catalogued by MSA consultants and will be included in the Phase I report on November 1, 2010 as raw data in the attachments section; this includes survey question cards collected from individuals and the group discussion notes from each table.”

The next report with the data is due Monday and, according to an HISD spokeswoman, the report will be made available on this page of the district’s website.

What do you think of the MSA magnet review findings? Texas Watchdog wants to hear from you. Contact Lynn Walsh at Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh.

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

HISD chief Terry Grier taps group that reviewed San Diego magnets for Houston magnet review
Monday, Oct 18, 2010, 03:00PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

The outside review of Houston’s 100-plus magnet school programs is being done by the same nonprofit group that reviewed San Diego’s magnets when Terry Grier was schools chief there.
Magnet

Magnet Schools of America is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group. The Houston Independent School District is one of 35 school district members of MSA, as are four other districts in Texas: Aldine, Dallas, El Paso and Lubbock. A top administrator in the Galveston school system is also a regional director for the association.

The association’s report, due in December, is highly anticipated because it could prompt HISD to shutter or expand some of its 113 magnet programs, which enroll more than 40,000 students.

It was unclear at press time how much HISD pays the group each year for membership. However, the district’s online check registry shows payments of $10,250 since October 2008.

MSA’s Web site says membership costs between $3,000-$5,000 yearly for districts, depending on the number of magnet schools they operate.

HISD is now also paying the association up to $275,000 for the third-party review.

Two other school districts previously led by HISD superintendent Grier, the San Diego Unified School District and the Guilford County, N.C., public schools, are also members of MSA.

While Grier was superintendent there, San Diego Unified also hired MSA for $58,000 to conduct a similar review of its magnet programs, according to reports by VoiceofSanDiego.org.

In San Diego, the news site reported, MSA’s 2009 report:

* “… Found that funding for magnet schools was chaotic and unexplained,” echoing concerns voiced by some critics of HISD’s magnet program.
* “… Criticized the school district for replicating the same themes at multiple schools, making them less attractive to students, and for allowing non-magnets to offer similar themes.” Ironically, Grier has called for HISD to duplicate themes of successful magnet schools.
* “… Found that most magnets had had only limited success in drawing students from wealthier areas ….”
* “…Found that the magnet schools that have succeeded most in diversifying San Diego Unified are ‘dedicated magnets’ where all students choose to attend through the magnet program, unlike other magnets which only offer their empty seats to students outside the immediate neighborhood.”

According to news accounts, MSA was launched in the 1980s as a for-profit group based in Houston, where its first executive director was a University of Houston faculty member. Its nonprofit status was approved in 1994, records show.

A call by Texas Watchdog to MSA’s Washington offices Friday was not returned. According to its website, the group promotes academic achievement in public magnet programs across the country.

The group’s executive director is magnet school expert and consultant Robert G. Brooks of Rhode Island, who previously served as the association’s president and is the author of several books on magnet schools.

According to IRS tax forms from recent years, MSA pays Brooks more than $94,000 annually. The group reported not having any other paid employees. (Scroll to the end of this story to see the association’s most recent tax return on file with the nonprofit research site Guidestar.org.)

One MSA consultant, Caroline Massengill, has received more than $13,000 in payments from HISD since February of this year, according to the district’s online check register. Payments to Massengill began Feb. 25 and continued on March 22 and June 11 for a total of $13,694.25. The check register doesn’t elaborate on the consulting work Massengill performed.

MSA has divided the review of HISD’s $21 million magnet program into two phases. Phase one will deal with community and parent feedback; phase two will include visits to individual magnet programs.

A preliminary report for the first phase is due Friday but may not be completed in time due the additional parent and community forums HISD added to the schedule, a district spokesman said Friday. As soon as the report is complete, HISD says it will post it on its website.

The final report is expected to be complete Dec. 1.

Contact Lynn Walsh at 713-228-2850 or lynn@texaswatchdog. Follow her updates on Twitter at @lwalsh and @TexasWatchdog.

Texas Watchdog and Voiceof SanDiego.org are both members of the Investigative News Network, an umbrella group for nonprofit news organizations across the country.

A story produced for Texas Watchdog:

Revamp of HISD magnet school programs draws parents’ complaints over timing
Wednesday, Oct 13, 2010, 06:18AM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Parents and community members can sound off through Oct. 30 as the Houston Independent School District tries to revamp its 113-school magnet program.

More than 40,000 students are enrolled this year in HISD magnet programs that cost about $21 million annually.

The magnet programs range from a school-within-a-school model to stand-alone magnet schools where the entire educational experience is based on a theme or subject matter, like the High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice in northwest Houston. Some of the programs receive additional local funding from HISD; others do not.

With more than 100 programs and little consistency in how much funding, if any, programs receive, HISD has hired the private nonprofit Magnet Schools of America to conduct the magnet review, which could cost up to $275,000.

In an e-mail to Texas Watchdog, HISD Chief of Staff Michele Pola said, “The contract with our consultants calls for updates every two weeks. Input from all community forums, the website, etc.. will be included in the updates from the consultants.”

A total of 12 parent and community meetings have been scheduled, including an additional Saturday meeting that will be held 9 a.m. Oct. 30 at the Hattie Mae White Building in Houston.

Parents are also concerned with the timing of the possible changes to the magnet program, which could happen while students are still applying to magnet programs that could, in theory, be axed.

Jan. 8 is the deadline for parents to choose which school they want their child to attend for the 2010-11 school year. About four months later, on March 25, parents are to receive notification of where their child has been selected to attend; they have until April 8 to make a final decision on where to enroll.

“It is what it is,” HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said when asked about the timing of the audit.

Changes to the HISD magnet program could come at any time and could affect the amount of funding a magnet program receives, Grier said.

With a lot of uncertainty and possibilities, Grier said the HISD trustees have the final decision. “Our staff is not going to make rash decisions. No final decisions have been made,” Grier said. Watch his entire comments in the clip below.

HISD made the Saturday meeting addition after a parent advocacy group, Parent Visionaries, made up of parent representatives and PTO leaders from across the district, asked for Saturday meetings.

Grier said the additional meeting will allow parents and teachers with conflicting schedules to make the meetings. “We were trying to be as responsive as possible,” he said.

The remaining parent and community magnet meetings are as follows:

* 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13 at Chavez High School (school board member: Manuel Rodriguez)
* 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 15 at Hattie Mae White (meeting open to everyone)
* 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26 at Madison High School (school board member: Larry Marshall)
* 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27 at Key Middle School (school board member: Carol Galloway)
* 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28 at Bellaire High School (school board member: Mike Lunceford)
* 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 30 at Hattie Mae White (meeting open to everyone)

Do you think HISD is allowing sufficient time for parent and community feedback? Should there be more meetings? We want to hear from you! Contact Lynn Walsh at Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter: @LWalsh.

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Houston school system looks for volunteers to oversee $800M bond-backed building program
Tuesday, Oct 12, 2010, 02:32PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Want a say in how the Houston Independent School District manages its $1 billion construction program?
Cake

HISD is taking applications for three openings on a board responsible for overseeing the $800 million in bond money that is funding the bulk of the building program.

The nine-person HISD Bond Program Oversight Committee has vacancies after some members chose not to re-apply for their positions.

In late August, HISD Chief Operating Officer Leo Bobadilla required members of the committee to re-apply, even if their terms weren’t up yet. They also had to agree to a new committee charter — one including a prohibition on conflicts of interest.

Five existing members and one new member have been approved — Chris Hudson, Mary Nesbit, Ber Pieper, Carroll Robinson and Gary White are returning, while Sonny Flores is the new appointee.

Flores replaces Manuel Barrera Jr., who stepped down earlier this year. Barrera was recommended to the committee by former HISD trustee Diana Davila.

Two outgoing committee members, Terrence Cheng and Edmond Gor, chose not to re-apply.

According to the new charter, at least one member must have experience in engineering or building design. However, in a break from past practice, no seats are reserved for specific community groups like the Houston Citizens Chamber of Commerce or the Greater Houston Partnership.

In July, the Houston Chronicle reported that Dávila attempted to get her husband, Abel Dávila, on the bond committee last November. According to the story, HISD Superintendent Terry Grier ultimately denied the request, but approved Barrera.

Abel Dávila is the former chairman of the Houston Community College Board of Trustees and is at the center of a conflict of interest investigation there.

According to an HISD spokesman, an online application will be available for those interested in serving on the oversight committee. An internal group will then make recommendations to Grier and, ultimately, HISD trustees will have the final say.

The deadline for applications was unclear at press time. Calls and e-mails to district spokesmen and Bobadilla were not returned — but Texas Watchdog will update this post if we find out more.

Contact Lynn Walsh at Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter: @LWalsh.

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

HISD cuts back on use of travel agency cited in recent Texas Watchdog reports
Friday, Oct 08, 2010, 11:10PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

The Houston Independent School District will no longer use a travel agency to book individual flights, according to a top district finance official.

HISD Chief Financial Officer Melinda Garrett said the Houston district would book flights through local travel agency, Advantage Travel, only when large groups of students need flights — yet the new district travel policy put in place just this month does not include any policy or rules against an employee using a travel agency to book a flight.
Plane in sky

Garrett said there does not need to be a specific policy against it because she is keeping an eye on when HISD uses the firm.

“I receive a report weekly on the use of the travel agency and am monitoring it closely,” Garrett said in an e-mail. Since Aug. 31, “no trips were booked through Advantage,” she said.

In June, after searching through thousands of HISD travel records obtained under the Texas Public Information Act, Texas Watchdog learned that poor planning, the use of Advantage Travel and a lenient travel policy were costing HISD and taxpayers thousands of dollars.

HISD pays $30 service fees to the Houston-based firm for employee and student flights despite having two full-time travel service reps who each earn more than $50,000 annually. The service fees represent about 4% of HISD’s annual travel costs.

“I have restricted the use of Advantage Travel to student travel only where groups are going or for employees with complicated itineraries,” Garrett said in an e-mail to Texas Watchdog last week.

Using the agency for large groups and students is beneficial to HISD, she said, because the firm allows the school district to substitute people on a flight if someone cancels at the last minute.

A recent investigation by Texas Watchdog shows that HISD was not the only local government agency using Advantage Travel. The City of Houston was paying $35-a-flight surcharges and has also adopted a new travel policy.

While the city’s new policy specifically bans the use of travel agencies, HISD’s does not.

One revision in the new travel policy is the use of the district’s new titles for administrative positions that were renamed in a district-wide reorganization late last year.

Do you think the new HISD travel policy is strict enough? Should the district continue to use Advantage Travel for student and group travel? Let us know what you think. Contact Lynn Walsh at Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter: @LWalsh.

A story produced for Texas Watchdog:

HISD construction program isn’t in the red after all, trustees told
Friday, Oct 08, 2010, 02:30PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

The Houston Independent School District’s $1 billion construction program is running $4 million under budget, despite initial concerns that it was tens of millions of dollars in the red, a consultant said.
Crane

The program, which will build 23 new schools and renovate 134 others, has a bit of financial wiggle room, but not much, consultant Joe Hill told school district trustees Thursday. He said he wouldn’t consider the program as having money to spare.

“I would say the budget is healthy,” the Greensboro, N.C.-based consultant said. “The bond program is on-budget. There can always be unforeseen costs that come up, and even with specific funds for those costs, it is common practice to want to be under budget.”

A July report by the nonprofit Council of the Great City Schools said the $1 billion construction program suffered from communication problems, lacked planning and was missing budget reports.

According to the report, financial reports to the HISD bond oversight committee were contradictory: A June quarterly report showed that the program had a balance of $25.6 million, but another report dated June 22 showed the same building program was $37 million in the red. In August, HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said publicly that the program was $39 million over budget.

Grier apologized for his comment Thursday and said the issues pointed out in the July review by the nonprofit council explained his mistake.

The $1 billion program is largely being financed by $800 million in bonds approved by voters. It also includes three school expansion projects.

According to Hill, $61 million of the building program’s $73 million reserve fund has already been added to specific project budgets. Meanwhile, half of the $69 million set aside for undesignated costs has been allocated to specific projects by the HISD trustees, and all of the program’s $44 million contingency fund has been accounted for as well. View Hill’s complete comments in the clip below.

Issa Dadoush, who joined the district as general manager of construction and facilities in April, detailed areas his department has been working on improving since the July report. Some of the objectives are 100 percent complete, such as reorganizing the department and restarting preventative maintenance at the schools, while others are only just getting started — including regularly evaluating contractors and consultants, and creating a set of policies and procedures for the unit. (You can view all of the objectives and the percent each is complete in this report.)

Last month, Dadoush told Texas Watchdog each construction project would have individual “worksheets” detailing the budget of each project and its current status. Thursday, Dadoush said it is going to take a little longer to get all of the “worksheets” completed.

“By the end of fall we plan on having the worksheets online,” Dadoush said. “The goal is to have all of the worksheets connected to a master sheet and then to the 5-year construction plan. We want the information to be easily and readily available.”

The information will be posted on a brand new website the department hopes to have completed within the next month, Dadoush said, as part of Grier’s plan to take Dadoush’s department paper-less.

Thursday’s review and presentation are the result of the review completed by the Washington D.C.-based national non-profit that works to promote urban education.

A more detailed presentation can be viewed online here. It includes the review completed by the Council for the Great City Schools, a re-structured organization chart of the department, an expense comparison between last year and this year, a department performance review, examples of department changes already implemented, budgets for specific projects/school improvements, a funding summary for capital projects and a detailed undesignated fund summary.

Contact Lynn Walsh at lynn@texaswatchdog.org or on Twitter at @lwalsh or @texaswatchdog.