TSPR Findings in the Beaumont ISD
Exemplary Practices
TSPR Key Recommendations
What Still Needs to Be Done
Append A - BISD's Ideas for Improving the TSPR Process
Appendix B - Status of Recommendations and Savings
Introduction
For nearly six years, the Texas School Performance Review (TSPR) has helped public school districts across the state take on an increasingly difficult challenge-keeping their scarce education dollars in the classroom, where they belong.
Created by the Texas Legislature in 1990, TSPR accepts invitations from public school districts of every size and shape-large or small, rich or poor, rural or urban. We settle in for months of detailed study, at no charge to district taxpayers. With the help of outside management experts, we consult a wide range of administrators, principals, teachers, parents, community groups, and business leaders. We solicit suggestions from front-line district employees and students. And we encourage everyone to call our special hot line and tell us what they think.
Our goal is to help public school districts operate more effectively and efficiently by identifying ways to hold the line on costs, reduce administrative overhead, streamline operations, and improve educational services.
Most of our recommendations come directly from teachers, parents, students, and others who live or work in the district. Many of these hard-working men and women have known for years what would help them improve their schools, but no one has ever asked for their ideas before. We ask.
Since 1991, we've offered more than 2,200 ways to net taxpayers savings of nearly $275 million in 22 public school districts throughout Texas-all without recommending the firing or laying off of a single classroom teacher. The districts studied by our team to date include San Antonio, Richland Springs, San Saba, Cherokee, Lubbock, Victoria, West Orange/Cove Consolidated, Lake Travis, Dallas, Austin, Calhoun County, Midland, Paris, San Marcos Consolidated, Brownsville, Longview, Waco, San Angelo, United in Laredo, Tyler, Houston, and, of course, Beaumont. We are completing a detailed study of the Texarkana Independent School District and expect to announce a new round of school performance reviews early next year.
Most of our recommendations come directly from teachers, parents, students, and others who live or work in the district. TSPR's work is not a financial audit in the traditional sense. It's not intended to uncover financial wrongdoing or other potential criminal activities. Instead, each school performance review tries to show the district how it might accomplish more with the same amount of money. We've recommended ways to streamline administrative functions, transportation and food service, improve campus security, reduce maintenance costs, and more efficiently manage facilities. We've proposed revamped investment strategies, better strategic planning, and privatization of certain district services.
Many of our recommendations are not simply cost-cutting measures or easily quantifiable in dollar terms. Some have no direct fiscal effect, while others entail increased spending to attract greater public and private funding. All, however, promise great improvements in student services and administrative efficiency.
The response to TSPR has ranged from enthusiasm to caution. In more than one district, the superintendent and a majority of board members signaled their support early on and ultimately went above and beyond the proposals in our report to make major improvements in areas not even suggested. In others, TSPR reports were about as welcome as fire ants at a picnic. Even then, however, district officials eventually recognized the value of our proposals and achieved impressive results by implementing them.
Some school districts have even learned that TSPR reports can be useful as a foil against the backlash of unpopular but necessary changes. Sometimes only an impartial third party is truly able to broach certain "untouchable" topics.
By acting on TSPR's proposals, all of the districts we've reviewed have cut their operational costs. In Lubbock, for example, then-Superintendent Mike Moses (now the state's Commissioner of Education) wrote that the 1992 "Texas School Performance Review was one of the primary reasons [that] the Lubbock Independent School District was able to regain credibility with this community."
It should be noted that some of our recommendations, particularly in the earliest reports, have proven to be unworkable, either because TSPR's knowledge of the facts was incomplete or because the proposals lacked sufficient detail for implementation. In a few cases, sound recommendations were simply rejected out-of-hand.
We believe [parents and families, taxpayers and students] deserve to know that their public schools are being held accountable for both the cost and quality of the education they deliver. Three years ago, after reviewing 11 public schools districts across Texas, TSPR paused long enough to take a look at its own performance. What we found was that 74 percent of our total recommendations had been implemented, for a savings of nearly $25 million. And that was only the beginning. Since that first progress report, TSPR has examined the operations of another 11 public school districts. Of those, five had sufficient time as of late last year to act on our recommendations and allow us to measure their success. Our second progress report, issued in November 1995, found that school districts had implemented 87 percent of our recommendations and already saved taxpayers nearly $40 million. A separate progress report on the San Angelo Independent School District also reported outstanding results.
As always, our hope is that this work will spark similar efforts in other school districts. We encourage them to use these reports as a tool for developing and testing their own improvement agendas. Anyone seeking detailed information on a particular district's performance review should feel free to contact that district. Copies of all school district reviews may be obtained for a nominal fee by calling the Texas Performance Review.
TSPR Findings in the Beaumont Independent School District Review
The Texas School Performance Review is guided by one mission above all-to help remind school districts, large and small, that their principal goal is to keep the customers satisfied. Who are those customers? First, they are the children whose future is shaped in large part by what they learn in the classroom. Their parents and families are customers, too, and so are the teachers, principals and other employees throughout the typical school district. The taxpayers who dig into their pockets to support their local schools are also important customers.
At a time when Texas faces the critical challenge of how to pay for the education of its school children, we believe all of these customers deserve to know that their public schools are being held accountable for both the cost and quality of the education they deliver. Only then will they be willing to invest the time, energy and dollars necessary to support the most important task our society has today-ensuring the educational well-being of all future Texans.
Such was the case in April 1995 when we began our review of the Beaumont Independent School District. With the help of experts from the outside management firm of KMPG Peat Marwick LLP, the TSPR team interviewed a variety of representatives from education and business organizations, district employees, school board members, and community leaders. More than 150 people participated in focus groups or individual interviews. More than three dozen district residents attended one of three open forums, and TSPR received hundreds of comments and suggestions in special surveys and over our toll-free hot line.
Fifteen members of TSPR's project team worked in the district. They targeted 12 areas of operation:
- District organization and management
- Educational service delivery and performance measures
- Personnel management
- Community involvement
- Facilities use and management
- Asset and risk management
- Financial management
- Purchasing and warehouse services
- Food service
- Transportation
- Safety and security
- Management information systems
We found a school district, the largest of six in Jefferson County, serving more than 20,200 students on 37 campuses, including two high schools. The student population was diverse-63 percent African-American, 30 percent Anglo, and 5 percent Hispanic-and nearly 58 percent of them came from economically-disadvantaged backgrounds.
We found an annual budget of $101 million, a total staff of more than 2,500, including some 1,280 classroom teachers, and challenges in such important areas as board governance, construction and facility maintenance, and management policies.
When we returned to BISD a year later, we found a district making dramatic progress toward the goals outlined in our report. BISD had changed direction in important ways. At the top of TSPR's list of recommendations had been governance issues: the need to improve credibility throughout the community, relationships among board members, and communication between the board and the new superintendent. These important issues are being addressed. Indeed, district leaders report that meetings are now shorter, more cordial and more productive, and that they lead to consensus, not conflict, more often than not-an accomplishment, according to BISD officials, that would have been out of reach prior to TSPR's report.
The district's finances have improved, too. Classroom space has been reassessed, and a streamlined use of BISD's facilities is well underway. Employee health insurance has been restructured. A three-tier transportation system is saving taxpayer dollars. And bond money, already approved by voters, is being used more effectively.
When we returned to BISD a year later, we found a district making dramatic progress toward the goals outlined in our report. Thanks to the installation of equipment by Southwestern Bell, schools are now linked to one another and to the Internet. A financial software package is in use, and a team from Lamar University, the Texas Education Agency's Region V Service Center, and BISD's own experts is now drafting a five-year plan to make sure the district moves into the next century taking full advantage of the latest technology.
The community is now more aware of district activities. A communication liaison has been named on each campus, and schools are being encouraged to stay in regular touch with parents, who have also been included in BISD's campus improvement committees. Quarterly luncheons with city and county officials, chamber of commerce members, and other local leaders have begun to break down barriers to open communication.
Additionally, job descriptions in BISD's administration have been rewritten to clearly define the financial and budget responsibilities of district personnel and to designate assistant superintendents for primary and secondary schools.
TSPR's Estimated Savings and Costs
Source: Texas School Performance Review of the Beaumont ISD, September 1995.All of these changes have been made in response to TSPR's original report, which offered 147 specific recommendations to improve district operations while saving Beaumont taxpayers $21 million over five years. The report also called for reinvestments of $2.8 million during the same period. In the first year (1995-96), TSPR anticipated savings of $2 million, an amount projected to double during the second full year of implementation. BISD has exceeded these estimates, implementing 132 recommendations or 89.8 percent and realizing more than $20 million in net savings during the first year and a half - savings exceeding the five-year projections by almost $2 million. In all fairness, $11.8 million of this amount is bond money that was saved and redirected to more productive projects - but, over the long haul, these are still savings to Beaumont taxpayers.
If this were all BISD accomplished, Beaumont taxpayers could be proud. But district officials promise more. Over the next five years, in fact, they hope to reach savings of as much as $44.6 million based on the following schedule:
BISD's Actual and Projected Savings and Costs
Source: BISD, November 1996During our review, TSPR identified a number of exemplary programs and practices and highlighted them in our final report. These programs and services are presented below, with updates on how BISD has enhanced them even further. We encourage other districts to study them and determine whether they can be successfully adapted to meet their own needs.
- The Career and Technology programs provided by BISD in cooperation with local industry are helping prepare students for the jobs of the future. The Metal Trades program at the Taylor Career Center, for example, uses equipment donated by businesses and maintained by community volunteers. Earlier this year, BISD expanded its Career and Technology programs with a new hydroponics project in conjunction with a number of area businesses. Since the release of the report, BISD continues to expand the Career and Technology offerings. In September, 1996, BISD opened a horticulture program incorporating high-tech hydroponics.The Bricklayers Apprenticeships and numerous businesses contributed $25,000 in materials and labor to complete the hydroponics growing area.
- Annual retreats for board members are being held to improve working relationships among the trustees and help them with their planning activities-at no cost to the district, thanks to financial contributions from the Temple-Inland Corporation. The next board retreat is planned for January 11th. Also, board members now host quarterly luncheons that include city officials, county commissioners, Port of Beaumont directors, representatives from the drainage district board, and members of the board of directors for the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce.
- TAAS results for 1995 showed significant improvements in grades 3, 4, and 5. In 1996, these improvements continued in grades 4, 5, 6 and 7. The 1996 district TAAS results showed a 61 percent passing rate for all tests in Grade 4 compared to 51 percent in 1995; 66 percent passing rate in Grade 5, compared to 58 percent the previous year, and a 50 percent passing rate in Grade 6, compared to 42 percent in 1995, and a 53 percent passing rate for Grade 7 compared to 48 percent in 1995. In addition, many Title I schools are demonstrating improvements in their TAAS results. Eleven Title I elementary schools and four middle schools recently received monetary awards from the state for performance gains on the TAAS in 1996.
- For the last two years, BISD has received Retention Reduction Grants from the Texas Education Agency. The grants list major objectives for eliminating retention (holding students back in a grade) as a strategy for mastery of the essential elements, and to train parents to help their children succeed. In 1995-96 BISD received additional funds for the program and has expanded its summer program to include grades K-5. The program has doubled the number of students served since the first year of operation.
- BISD has developed a comprehensive program to serve gifted and talented students in the areas of general intellectual ability, specific subject matter, aptitude, creative and productive thinking, and leadership ability. The district has increased efforts to identify more students from minority populations by using the Structure of Intellect (S.O.I.) assessment. The S.O.I. model of instruction is being used in several elementary schools and is to be expanded to middle schools during 1997-98. Teachers, counselors and administrators throughout the district have received S.O.I. training.
- A comprehensive salary and compensation study was conducted for the district's non-teaching administrative and professional positions prior to the review. This study helped the district identify inequities and allowed the district to set competitive salary structures for these employees. At the Comptroller's urging, a similar salary study has now been performed for teachers, support staff, and auxiliary employees. Plans are being drafted to make salary and compensation packages equitable for all employees of the district as funds become available.
- The district has automated many of its personnel functions and replaced many of its manual processes. Since the review, automation continues with the implementation of an Employee Management system, a Financial Management system and a Human Resources system, which includes position control and a new substitute calling and tracking system.
The number of volunteer hours more than tripled to $1,000,000 worth during 1995-96, and 61 business partners have demonstrated a significant level of support for the district. - During 1993-94, the school volunteer program resulted in more than $326,000 worth of volunteer hours, but the number of volunteer hours more than tripled to $1,000,000 worth during 1995-96, and 61 business partners have demonstrated a significant level of support for the district. BISD also has established a strong partnership with the Jefferson County Commissioners, Lamar University, Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, Port Arthur ISD, City of Port Arthur and the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission. More than $30,000 of corporate and private funds have been procured for students to film city council, county commissioner's court, and school board meetings. In addition to the government cablecast, BISD continues its partnership with the Lamar University Communications Department in the Joint Educational Channel. Plans are underway to expand the use of this cable channel, as it could be an opportunity for students in the new Magnet High School to learn about broadcast technologies.
- Since showcasing the activities and achievements of BISD students and employees is one of the district's priorities, a member on each campus has been designated as a liaison to the Communications Department to highlight success stories. All information from campus liaisons is directed to the Communications Department. Procedures have been put in place enabling staff administrators and teachers on each campus to forward news items for public dissemination. Schools are encouraged to communicate regularly with parents both with success stories and volunteer needs that encourage parent participation. A record is kept in the Communications Department of the stories submitted, along with a record of the media exposure acquired for the district. Personnel in the Communications Department serve on multiple service and education-related boards and committees. The Communications Department continues to work closely with the Beaumont Board of Realtors by providing informational materials and speakers for newcomers to the city.
More than 89 percent of our recommendations... have already been implemented or are in progress. - BISD's business office recently streamlined its process by eliminating the number of approvals needed to process a requisition.
- BISD participates in the General Services Commission's purchasing cooperative, the Region V Food Service Cooperative, and Southeast Texas Cooperation Purchasing Organization.
- The district's purchasing department has begun to use blanket purchase orders for maintenance equipment and supplies and for music department supplies.
- BISD is minimizing the need for a traditional warehousing function by instituting "just-in-time" delivery systems for office and school supplies.
- The district has effectively minimized capital outlay debt commitments each year through effective planning, auctioning retired buses, and acquiring newer buses when needed.
TSPR has found room for improvement in even the best-run public school districts. BISD was no exception. Much of the district's leadership is committed to positive change; in fact more than 89 percent of our recommendations that have already been implemented or are in progress.
Following are some of the key recommendations identified by administrators and staff members as having the greatest effect on the district's operations. The highlighted recommendations are arranged by chapter and area of operation as contained in TSPR's report. The comments come from district administrators.
District Organization and Management
#17 Develop an evaluation tool to accompany any request for the use of priority funds.Education Service DeliveryIn April 1994, BISD adopted the Covenant or agreement with the community. Oversight of the Covenant's provisions rests with the Citizens United for Academic Excellence Committee (CUAEC). CUAEC oversees priority funds allocated to schools with enrollments of 75 percent economically or educationally disadvantaged students. TSPR found that few accountability controls were in place for spending these priority funds.
As a result of the recommendation, the district has established clearer parameters for the decision-making process. Constant dialog has improved control of spending. Any request for priority funds must be approved by the CEIC, principal, appropriate assistant superintendent, superintendent and made available for review by CUAEC.
#24 Align curriculum essentials to tests administered by BISD.Personnel ManagementMathematics K-12 is being aligned to district testing. Vertical team training has been provided. On October 4, work sessions were held on the vertical alignment of mathematics; on November 8, a session was held on the vertical alignment of language arts districtwide. This ever-evolving process includes setting benchmarks and standards from one grade level to another.
#43 Conduct a salary and compensation review of paraprofessional, auxiliary, and teaching positions.Community InvolvementAt the time of TSPR's review, a comprehensive salary and compensation study had been conducted for the district's non-teaching administrative and professional positions. By completing a study of the paraprofessional, auxiliary ,and teaching positions, the district can now equitably address salary and compensation for all district employees. This means not only addressing the relative value the district places on a position when compared to other district positions, but also applies to the value of the position in the external market place. Achieving external equity in salaries and compensation will enable the district to recruit and retain employees. While BISD was unable to fund all of the salary adjustments called for in the study during the first year, the district now knows what must be done, and can work toward these goals in a planned and systematic way over the next few years.
#45 Evaluate and focus on minority recruitment efforts.
District officials report that focusing on minority recruitment has been an eye opening experience. Minority representation among teachers has remained at about 35 percent for the past five years, compared to a minority student population of more than 71 percent. BISD plans to continue efforts that have been successful in the past, while enlisting more community support for recruitment efforts and attempting to make better use of the Alternative and Emergency Certification programs. In addition, the district is moving toward a long term program to attract high school students to the teaching professions. The timeline for the high school program includes setting up a high school committee in May 1996, developing a program in Fall 1996 and beginning to work with students in early 1997.
Having the opportunity to meet with board members in open forums, where a true exchange of ideas can take place, has improved both the board's reputation in the community and its credibility. #61 School board members should seek opportunities to actively participate in discussions with members of the community.Facilities Use and ManagementDistrict officials report that encouraging BISD board members to take an active role in the community has already paid dividends. At the time of TSPR's review, there was a general public perception that the board was unable to govern the district, and BISD's credibility was at an all time low. Having the opportunity to meet with board members in open forums, where a true exchange of ideas can take place, has improved both the board's reputation in the community and its credibility.
#63 Establish a minimum cleaning standard of 18,000 square feet per custodian.Asset and Risk ManagementEstablishing a staffing ratio for custodians has allowed BISD to do two things it would never have been able to accomplish otherwise-equitable distribution of custodial resources and savings of $134,000 annually.
#69 BISD should reevaluate the use of its school facilities to reduce the need for portable classrooms and consider redirecting some approved bond money.
BISD's superintendent has called this recommendation the most significant of all the proposals in TSPR's report. In November 1996, as the review team was returning for its follow-up visit, the board of trustees approved a new assignment plan for the district. The plan will close two schools, add a third high school with a magnet program, and abolish 9th grade campuses.
To put this in perspective, district voters in 1994 approved $53.9 million in bonds for a long list of priority construction projects. In 1995, BISD began construction on two new schools and a number of renovation projects at existing schools. Cost overruns caused the district to stop all renovations, and controversy enveloped the new construction projects. TSPR discovered that the campuses weren't used efficiently; many were underused, others overcrowded. The new construction and renovation projects were failing to address these problems.
By thoroughly reassessing the district's construction priorities, community leaders and BISD officials saved more than $14 million in construction funds. By pausing long enough to thoroughly reassess the district's construction priorities and compare them to real needs, community leaders and BISD officials saved more than $14 million in construction funds that might otherwise have been squandered on unnecessary projects. The district redirected those funds to actual needs. The final phase in this process was a change in the assignment plans; the community, board, and advocacy groups joined in unanimous support of the changes.
#82 The district should expand its level of managed care to include physician services.Financial ManagementDuring the first nine months of 1996, BISD's administrators report that claims paid totaled some $3.6 million, while the contract adjustment amount came to slightly more than $2 million. This indicates a savings to BISD and district employees of about 40 percent over what indemnity plan prices would have been. In a time of rapidly rising health care prices, avoiding this cost increase represents significant savings to the district.
Purchasing#104 Develop a plan to increase the fund balance to an optimum level.
BISD is pleased to report that the district's fund balance has reached an optimum level of $21.7 million-and continues to grow with interest earnings. Through the cost cutting measures outlined in TSPR's report the district was able to reverse a trend of spending down the fund balance to unacceptably low levels.
Food Service#108 Upgrade or replace the automated finance system to support enhanced purchasing functionality.
Although implementation of our software recommendations is incomplete, routine purchasing functions are now on-line, and further planned reforms will lead to more decentralization and greater efficiency in BISD's purchasing operations.
Transportation#116 Monitor, identify and track trends in food costs, revenues, recipe compliance and costs, and waste.
#118 Implement the "Menu and Recipe" and "Inventory and Purchasing" modules for the Bon Appetit software.
#119 Budgets should be prepared to include both monthly projections as well as annual projections.
Implementation of these proposals is still in progress, but the district's food service director reports that increased management control will soon be in place over all aspect of food service operations.
Safety and Security#126 BISD should adopt a staggered three-tier school time system to optimize the district's bus usage.
This recommendation, implemented during the 1995-96 school year, resulted in an understandable period of adjustment for parents and students. This year, reported problems have been few, and efficiency is greatly improved. BISD reports savings of $339,000 during the first year.
Management Information Systems#141 Adopt a staffing plan for security officers that includes a balanced deployment of peace officers and security guards and ensures equal or better-quality security for the district.
A staffing plan was developed and salaries were renegotiated to produce a more balanced deployment of peace officers and security guards on BISD campuses and to reduce costs by $95,000 per year.
What Still Needs to Be Done#145 Finalize and adopt plans to procure and install a WAN.
Implementation of a WAN, or wide area network, was in progress at the time of TSPR's review. Nevertheless, the district estimated that it would take five years to complete, and the availability of funds for the project was in question. Now, BISD reports that the system will be paid for in two years and that its implementation has enhanced the district's overall strategic planning efforts.
During this first year, Beaumont ISD made impressive progress in putting TSPR's recommendations into place. However, work remains to be done.
Technology. BISD has developed a five-year technology plan. Implementation of technology improvements are underway in an effort to address most of the district's administrative needs and many of its instructional technology needs. This plan was approved by the board, and money has been budgeted for most of the projects.
Some of the recommendations that are considered to be "in progress" but not yet fully implemented depend on the installation of the new computer equipment and software.
The district estimated that it would take five years to complete [the WAN], and the availability of funds for the project was in question. Now, BISD reports that the system will be paid for in two years. Staffing and Organization. BISD analyzed and rejected several of TSPR's recommendations in this area. The new superintendent came into the district with a vision somewhat different than the vision of the Comptroller's review team, although he expressed a similar focus on streamlining operations and realigning functions.
Some of the recommendations not implemented because of this shift in vision include: renaming the executive director of personnel to director of personnel (9); renaming the assistant superintendent for administration to the assistant superintendent for plant and auxiliary services (12); reinstating the job placement program and assigning a coordinator (34); assigning a separate at-risk coordinator to focus on program development (36); creating a director of Planning and Budgeting (96); and moving the systems manager in the business office to computer services (143).
Another recommendation dealing with the consolidation of insurance functions in the personnel department (42) was tried and eventually returned to the original plan because of a span of control issue resulting from the superintendent's organizational realignment.
Personnel Management. BISD has elected not to implement a recommendation to eliminate the district's hard copy absence reports following implementation of the new computer system (55), stating that employees are still skeptical of the new system and prefer to have a hard copy for verification purposes. After employee confidence levels are higher, the district will revisit this recommendation.
Asset and Risk Management. BISD's outside legal counsel continues to advise the district against a recommendation to obtain general liability insurance (87), despite advice to the contrary from the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), the Texas Association of School Business Officials (TASBO), and the Comptroller. Once again, we caution that the state immunity granted under the Texas Tort Claims Act doesn't prevent individuals from filing suit against a school district for violations of such federal laws as the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Civil Rights Act.
Maintenance. A recommendation to eliminate one painter I and all six painter II positions (96) was initially rejected, however, the district is providing closer supervision to these positions and reports that productivity is improved. BISD will reevaluate this recommendation in the future.
Transportation. Four transportation-related recommendations haven't been acted upon because BISD chose to continue doing business as they had prior to TSPR's review. Their decisions were based on administrative and community concerns, and probably won't be revisited in the near future. The original proposals included: eliminating the maintenance department's auto mechanic position (67); identifying neighborhoods where the Beaumont Metropolitan Transit could transport some children (128); providing parents less expensive alternatives to current majority-to-minority transfers (129); and eliminating the district's route manager position (122).
Another recommendation, this one having to do with the crossing guard program (139), wasn't implemented because of a misunderstanding about the need for a volunteer program and possible financing of an expanded program. TSPR staff members have discussed the issue with district leaders and been assured that the district will give this proposal additional consideration.
Appendix A
BISD's Ideas For Improving the School Performance Review ProcessEvery public school district faces unique challenges. That's why every Texas School Performance Review is different.
Common themes, however, emerge in each review-including recommendations from district officials and others for improving the review process itself. TSPR welcomes these ideas. After all, if we accept an invitation to study a community's schools and sound off on ways to improve them, we should be willing to take some constructive criticism in return.
BISD administrators who participated in the performance review have generally commended TSPR for providing the district with a blueprint to help them meet their immediate challenges, as well as identifying additional opportunities for improvement-and the giving them the detailed proposals to proceed. The original review offered BISD, its board and the community it serves, a rallying point.
The review also brought forth a number of helpful hints from BISD administrators about how TSPR can do its own job better-reviewing the reviewers, if you will. The following is a compendium of comments from the district's officials.
- Some of the cost and savings estimates provided by the TSPR team were low, while others were high or based on numbers the district could not replicate. In some cases, the district was able to contact the TSPR team and provide clarification. In others, the information provided by the district to the review team contained assumptions that weren't effectively communicated.
- Although TSPR helped the district throughout the implementation phase, the formal follow-up session made it possible for BISD officials to focus on completing their efforts. Similar follow-ups by TSPR on an annual basis would be beneficial, the district says.
- Although the review process was very successful, it came years after it was needed. One board member suggested that every school district in Texas wanting a review should be given the opportunity to have one.
- During the initial release of the report to the board, the sheer volume of information provided seemed overwhelming. Giving school districts more structure for how to implement the recommendations would be helpful.
