IntroductionIn January 2000, Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander selected the four districts in Kleberg County-Kingsville ISD, Ricardo ISD, Riviera ISD and Santa Gertrudis ISD-for a school performance review. Reviews of the three smaller districts concluded in August of 2000 and work began in Kingsville in September 2000, with a final report issued in February 2001. During April 2002, Texas School Performance Review (TSPR) staff returned to assess the district's progress in implementing the recommendations.
Since 1991, TSPR has recommended nearly 6,500 ways to save taxpayers more than $690 million over a five-year period in 77 public school districts throughout Texas. TSPR also conducts follow-up reviews of districts that have had at least one year to implement its recommendations. These 45 subsequent reviews show that more than 90 percent of TSPR's combined proposals have been acted upon, saving taxpayers more than $112 million, with the full savings estimated to grow in the future.
Improving the Texas School Performance Review
Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander, who took office in January 1999, consulted school district officials, parents and teachers from across Texas and carefully examined past reviews and progress reports in an effort to make the TSPR more valuable, even vital, to the state's more than 1,000 school districts. With the perspective of having served as a teacher, and later as school board president, the Comptroller has vowed to steer TSPR toward being more accountable to local school districts and the communities they represent.
Comptroller Rylander began by establishing new criteria for selecting school districts for future reviews. Priority is now given to districts judged poor performing academically or financially, and to hands-on reviews that benefit the greatest number of students. To ensure this process also serves small districts, reviews of numerous school districts in close proximity, regardless of academic or financial status are also completed to achieve some economy of scale, as was the case with the smaller districts reviewed in Kleberg County.
Recognizing that only about 52 cents of every education dollar is spent on instruction, Comptroller Rylander's goal is to drive more of every education dollar directly into the classroom. In addition, no longer are school districts' best practices and exemplary models left buried inside individual TSPR reports. Instead, Comptroller Rylander has ordered best practices and exemplary programs to be shared quickly and systematically among all the state's school districts and with anyone who requests such information. There is simply no reason for a district that has solved a problem well to keep the solution to itself. Comptroller Rylander has directed TSPR to serve as an active clearinghouse of the best and brightest ideas in Texas public education. Best practices identified in the original review will be included in the Comptroller's best practices database, A+ Ideas for Managing Schools (AIMS), which is accessible on the Web at www.aimsdatabase.org.
Under Comptroller Rylander's approach, the TSPR team and consultants work with districts to:
- ensure students and teachers receive the support and resources necessary to succeed;
- identify innovative options to address core management challenges;
- ensure administrative activities are performed efficiently, without duplication and in a manner that spurs education;
- develop strategies to ensure the districts' processes and programs are continuously assessed and improved;
- understand the links among the districts' functional areas and determine ways to provide a seamless system of services;
- challenge any process, procedure, program or policy that impedes instruction and recommend ways to reduce or eliminate obstacles; and
- put goods and services to the "Yellow Pages test"-government should do no job if there is a business in the Yellow Pages that can do that job better and at a lower cost.
Finally, Comptroller Rylander has opened her door to Texans who share her optimism about TSPR's potential. Suggestions to improve school reviews are welcome at any time. The Comptroller is a staunch believer in public education and public accountability.
Detailed information can be obtained from TSPR by calling 1-800-531-5441 extension 5-3676, or by visiting the Comptroller's Web site at www.window.state.tx.us.
TSPR in the Kingsville Independent School District
In January 2000, Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander selected the four districts in Kleberg County for a school performance review. The Kingsville ISD (KISD) review was initiated in response to a local call for assistance from former-superintendent Charles Greenwalt to conduct a performance review of the district. In the final report issued in February 2001, three key challenges quickly surfaced-a decline in student enrollment, a need to address existing facility conditions and the need to address staffing at all levels.
Based upon more than six months of work, the original report identified KISD's exemplary programs and suggested concrete ways to improve district operations. If fully implemented, the Comptroller's 87 recommendations could result in net savings of more than $5 million over the next five years.
The Comptroller contracted with SDSM Inc., an Austin-based firm, at a cost of $123,000, which was borne by the Comptroller's office. The TSPR team interviewed district employees, school board members, parents, business leaders and community members and held two public forums at H.M. King High School and Memorial Middle School on September 12 and 14, 2000 respectively from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The review team conducted additional focus group sessions with teachers, business leaders, site-based-decision-making committees (SBDMCs) and parent volunteer groups. The Comptroller's office also received letters and phone calls from a wide array of parents, teachers and community members.
A total of 787 respondents answered surveys. Forty-nine campus and central administrators and support staff; 4 principals; 130 teachers; 192 parents; and 412 students completed written surveys. The review team also consulted two databases of comparative educational information maintained by the Texas Education Agency (TEA)-the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) and the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS).
KISD selected peer districts for comparisons based on similarities in student enrollment, student performance and community and student demographics. The selected peer districts were Alice, Calallen, Flour Bluff, Gregory-Portland and Tuloso-Midway. TSPR also compared KISD to district averages in TEA's Region 13 Education Service Center, to which KISD belongs, and the state as a whole.
Kingsville ISD in Profile
Kingsville ISD is located in Kleberg County approximately 40 miles west of the city of Corpus Christi. KISD has one high school, one intermediate school, one middle school, six elementary schools, an alternative education campus and a night school. Enrollment for 2001-02 is 4,644 students, or a 9.6 percent decrease since 1996-97 when the district reported 5,136 students.
In 2001-02, KISD's students were 79.4 percent Hispanic, 15.5 percent White, 4.0 African American and 1.1 percent Asian/ Pacific Islander or Native American. Sixty-six percent of KISD's students were classified as economically disadvantaged.
In 2001, four of KISD's six elementary campuses received an Exemplary rating from the TEA; two elementary schools, the intermediate school and the middle school received Recognized ratings; and TEA rated the high school as Acceptable. The district received and overall Recognized rating.
In 2000-01, 90.6 percent of all students passed the reading portion of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) test; 88.2 percent passed the math portion of the test; 89.3 percent passed the writing portion of the test; and 81.5 percent of students passed all tests taken.
In 2001-02, the district employed a staff of 757 employees, with teachers accounting for 341, or more than 45 percent of KISD staffing. The district had expenditures of $20.01 million in 2001-02. That same year, 37.2 percent of KISD's budgeted revenues were generated through local taxes; 4.1 percent came from other local and intermediate sources; and 55 percent came from the state, while 3.7 percent came from the federal government.
In 2001-02, KISD budgeted 50.5 cents of every tax dollar on classroom instruction compared to the state average of 52 cents.
Over the last year, significant changes have occurred in the district. Superintendent Charles Greenwalt resigned in May of 2001, and Superintendent Dr. Martha Salazar-Zamora was named as his replacement. A number of key administrative positions have been filled, and these new administrators are in the process of reviewing and reorganizing their respective areas.
In addition to the many tasks associated with changes in administration, the district also has had a District Effectiveness and Compliance (DEC) Monitoring visit from TEA within the last year. Facility planning and evaluation has been a major issue for the district. Based upon a decline in enrollment and the poor condition of the facility, in April 2002, district officials announced the closing of Mc Roberts Elementary in 2002-03. In all, the district has not only been faced with implementing the Comptroller's recommendations, but also has undertaken a number of difficult and controversial projects that ultimately will have significant benefits for the district, both academically and administratively.
While work continues in the district, both KISD staff and TSPR team members have a sense of steady progress. Twenty-eight recommendations have been implemented; 51 are in various stages of progress; and eight have been reviewed but not implemented. (See Appendix A for details on the recommendations' status.)
Exemplary Programs and Practices
KISD is a school district with some notable successes, and TSPR has identified numerous "best practices." Through commendations in each chapter, the original report highlighted model programs, operations and services provided by KISD administrators, teachers and staff members. Other school districts throughout Texas are encouraged to examine these exemplary programs and services to see if they could be adapted to meet local needs. TSPR's commendations are listed below followed by updated information on each topic in italics.
- KISD formed a citizen's committee to assess facilities. In May 2000, more than 69 percent of district voters approved a $30-million bond package. KISD gathered support by forming an 85-member citizen committee that toured facilities, developed an assessment of facility needs and eventually were advocates for a bond program in the community. The formation of this committee represented a major effort by the district to reach out to the community and include residents in an important decision-making process.
Since the review, KISD has not yet been able to qualify for the state's funds and consequently has had to find alternative ways to address its facility issues. The board and administration have continued to seek community support and guidance as they have made some difficult decisions concerning the district's facilities.
- Alternative Education settings help students become successful. Through its night school and K.E.Y.S. Academy, KISD offers alternative educational services both day and night to students who require an alternative educational setting to succeed. These programs meet the needs of students at risk of dropping out of school, students at risk of not graduating from high school within a four-year plan, students who must work, and students who report "not fitting in" the regular school. The K.E.Y.S. Academy also features a childcare center and offers parenting and essential living skills classes among its more traditional offerings.
As part of the district's overall dropout prevention program, KISD is evaluating the effectiveness of its alternative education programs to ensure the program is meeting the needs of the children served. Further, the high school counselor provides support for students returning to the regular classroom from alternative programs.
- KISD provides health services in every school. In 1999, KISD coordinated services with the Texas Department of Health (TDH) and implemented an immunization project for KISD schools. The immunization project served 2,624 students. In addition, KISD nurses provide information and distribute application forms to all students about the statewide children's insurance program, TexCare Partnership, which provides health insurance for uninsured Texas children.
KISD continues to coordinate efforts with external entities to ensure students and their families receive social services, health care and counseling. KISD officials believe that healthy students are better prepared to learn and succeed in school.
- The Personnel Department participates in the Texas Association of School Personnel Administrators' (TASPA) annual salary surveys and uses these surveys to determine the competitiveness of KISD's employee pay. By using survey results as one of several tools, the district strives to maintain competitiveness within its limited resources, particularly for teacher salaries.
KISD continues to annually review salary schedules and has developed a new teacher salary schedule for the 2002-03 school year that proposes a 3 percent salary increase for teachers. While the board has not yet approved this increase, the action would continue to keep KISD teacher salaries competitive with peers and neighboring districts.
- KISD's investment strategies take advantage of changing interest rate trends. In fiscal 1999, when interest rates were declining, the district's investment officer locked in higher interest rates by purchasing Fannie Mae Discount Notes. In September 1999, the district's investment officer increased the percentage of the district's portfolio invested in investment pools to take advantage of the daily recalculation of rising rates. The most recently completed quarterly report for the district shows KISD's portfolio was $10.1 million in May 2000.
Since the review, the KISD board has amended its investment policy and is producing a quarterly investment report to report the type of funds used to purchase investments as stipulated in its board-approved investment policy and the Public Funds Investment Act. In this way, the board can better monitor its investment activities and make adjustments when needed.
- Principals are granted access to the financial system. Principals are issued a copy of their approved budget at the beginning of the year and have the capability of generating budget to actual reports directly from the computer system. Schools are also able to initiate purchase requisitions and electronically transfer the requests to the Finance Department for review and approval. This hands-on access allows principals to anticipate and control their budgets.
KISD is revising its budget format to include more supplemental information on campuses and programs. This revision should help principals as they plan and monitor expenditures throughout the year.
- KISD takes advantage of cooperative agreements. Approximately $1.7 million of the district's fiscal 2000 total purchases were made through cooperative agreements with the state and the Education Service Center Region 2. Participation in these cooperatives eliminates the need for district personnel to solicit bids and allows KISD to take advantage of pricing discounts that would not be available to it otherwise.
In response to Recommendation #56, concerning the need to obtain quotes or bids for those items that KISD anticipated would exceed the purchasing threshold, district administrators said they are making even greater use of cooperatives. Price discounts and the district's ability to buy items without soliciting bids make cooperative purchasing an attractive option.
- Energy management program saves money. KISD's utility bills are 28 percent less than 1990 when the energy management program began, due to upgrades in the district's heating ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC). In addition, the district has taken steps to further reduce its energy bills by joining the State Energy Program offered by the General Land Office (GLO). The program will reduce the cost of energy the district by four percent or more than $32,000 per year.
KISD continues to replace older equipment with energy efficient equipment, but officials have had some difficulty with the GLO program. The first utility bills from GLO show increases in utility rates.
The following are some of the key recommendations that administrators and staff said they believe had the greatest impact on district operations. The highlighted recommendations are organized by chapter and by the area of operation as contained in the original report. The comments came from district administrators during the TSPR team's follow-up visit to the district.
District Organization and Management
Recommendation 1 - Develop a consent agenda of items that require routine board approval. According to district administrators, this recommendation is having a significant impact on the length of the board meetings. The KISD board began using a consent agenda June 5, 2001. Items on the consent agenda are voted on as a group. If a board member has questions about a specific item on the consent agenda, it is moved out and discussed separately, but those items not requiring additional discussion are moved on quickly.
Educational Service Delivery
Recommendation 15 - Fund and implement strategies that will increase the number of students completing advanced courses and taking Advanced Placement exams. During the review process, a district task force had already begun to review the entire gifted and talented program. As a result, the identification process was modified so that the percentage of students actually identified as gifted were being counted. The district is now paying the fees for students who score an 85 percent or above in the Advanced Placement class and for any economically disadvantaged students. KISD also takes the students to lunch on the day of the practice test to encourage participation. The district has consulted Region 1 to see what other districts are doing to improve their programs. Sharing these strategies gave KISD some new ideas, which administrators said have greatly improved the process.
Recommendation 18 - Develop campus improvement plans that comply with state mandates for compensatory funds. Implementing this recommendation was critical for the success of the District Effectiveness and Compliance (DEC) visit from TEA. Because of the work that was accomplished in advance of the visit, the DEC personnel gave the district an oral commendation on the campus improvement plans (CIPs) and the district improvement plans (DIP). Administrators said that the CIP could now be used as a working document. The principals now better understand the connection between the plan and the district's overall educational goals. The District officials plan to provide more training for site-based decision-making committee members to help everyone to use and understand the purpose of the CIPs and DIP.
Recommendation 20 - Establish campus intervention teams at each school to develop and monitor pre-referral practices. District administrators said they knew that too many students were being referred to Special Education, but this recommendation gave them a mechanism for addressing the issue. The Special Education director arranged for all principals, assistant principals and counselors to attend training on a new SOS (Successful Opportunities for all Students) pre-referral program. The counselors at every campus will be responsible for overseeing the program on their campus. Although the assistant superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction position is vacant right now, the superintendent is overseeing the development of the program. Administrators said this SOS system provides more accountability and ensures every child is receiving the help they need to succeed, but that only the children who really need Special Education services are referred and enrolled in that program.
Recommendation 22 - Review the district's TAAS exemption procedures to ensure that every possible special education student is included in the state testing system. The director said that the exemption process had been a concern of hers for some time. The report gave her the authority to implement a new system to ensure that all kids were tested. Through a concerted effort begun during the Spring Admissions, Review and Dismissal (ARD) process, the district reviewed every exemption and made certain that all children who could were taking the TAAS. As a result, the exemption rate dropped from 13.3 percent in 1999-2000 to 2.0 percent in 2000-01. KISD tested 12.9 percent of its students using the State-Developed Alternative Assessment (SDAA) designed for special education students who were unable to take the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS).
Personnel Management
Recommendation 25 - Develop a personnel procedures manual. While this recommendation remains in progress, district administrators said they believe a formal procedures manual will help ensure all employees understand the district's policies and procedures covering personnel management. The district has an employee handbook that provides some of this information, but KISD has contacted the Fort Bend and United ISDs to obtain copies of personnel procedure manuals to use as a starting point for creating a more comprehensive procedures manual.
Recommendation 29 - Develop staffing guidelines for all employee categories. In January 2002, staffing plans were developed based on the Angleton ISD's model, and formulas are to be presented to the board by June 2002. The Personnel director said this recommendation was key because of the potential for savings that exists, as well as the opportunity to ensure resources are distributed equitably throughout the district.
Facilities Use and Management
Recommendation 43 - Prepare a Custodial Plan to improve building conditions. The new director of Maintenance is developing a custodial handbook and hopes to have it ready by the beginning of the 2002-03 school year. The handbook will contain dates and topics for future training sessions, general information, building locations and general cleaning standards or guidelines. This significant tool will hold custodians accountable for their work by ensuring they know what is expected of them and by providing them the information they need to do their jobs effectively.
Asset and Risk Management
Recommendation 45 - Amend the district's investment policy to provide specific direction and a timetable to be followed by the superintendent in the event of changes to the district's authorized investment officers and the institutions used to transact district investments. According to the assistant superintendent, the revision of the policy provided direction to the administration in the event that someone left the district; also, it provided a better system of internal controls.
Financial Management
Recommendation 48 - Cross-train accounting staff and designate a staff backup to reconcile bank statements each month within 30 days of the receipt without exception. KISD has hired an accounting supervisor and now has two staff capable of reconciling bank statements. All bank reconciliations are now current. This recommendation has been most beneficial because, according to the business manager, the district needed someone to assist with this function because there was insufficient time to complete all of the functions that the business manager was required to handle. The district now has stronger internal control procedures and is in a better position if personnel leave the district.
Purchasing and Contract Management
Recommendation 58 - Report maximum student enrollment data to the TEA when placing annual and supplemental textbook orders.
Recommendation 59 - Conduct a detailed physical inventory of all district textbooks and reconcile the results to the inventory listing compiled by the coordinator of Educational Services.
Recommendation 60 - Adopt a formal policy to hold principals, teachers, parents and students accountable for missing or damaged textbooks. The textbook coordinator cited all three of these recommendations as key. She said that she believes the fact that she is tracking lost textbooks and regularly reporting this information to the board is making principals and teachers more aware of the issue and accountability is improving.
Transportation
Recommendation 71 - Purchase automated bus routing software to design a more efficient and cost effective route scheduling system. The Transportation director is examining available software options and plans to make a purchase during the summer of 2002. He was unable to estimate whether savings could be realized, because the district is closing a school and the routes will be significantly changed. He believes implementing this recommendation can be profitable and it will help the district to redraw routes when the school is closed.
Recommendation 74 - Develop preventive maintenance policies and procedures to assist Transportation Department staff with tracking and planning maintenance activities. The district purchased a preventive maintenance tracking software. The district had previously used paper documents, and because workloads are heavy at times, there were occasions when routine maintenance was overlooked or delayed. The new system will alert the mechanic when a bus is ready for inspection, oil change or other specific maintenance tasks.
Safety and Security
Recommendation 80 - Include measurements for accomplishing safety goals in staff performance appraisals. Instead of evaluating individuals, the district has determined that campuses should be evaluated and rewarded when improvements are made. In the 2002-03 budget, the coordinator of Educational Services has earmarked funds to provide incentives to campuses that show improvement in meeting safety goals. The coordinator said that this recommendation was particularly beneficial because it brought the issue to the attention of the district's administration. The new program is making people aware of the costs of unsafe conditions and is making them a part of the solution.
Computers and Technology
Recommendation 85 - Develop a districtwide technology plan that includes instructional and administrative technology needs and ties the plan to the annual budget. While administrative technology remains to be addressed in a formal plan, the district created a 2002-05 instructional technology plan that is an update of the plan originally created in 2000. The district has attempted to tie the limited in-house budget to the instructional technology plan and has received approximately $500,000 in grants to help fund some of the plan's strategies. An equipment replacement cycle is addressed in the plan and the district has added a new technician to meet the need for computer support. The instructional technology coordinator said that creating this plan has heightened the board's and administration's awareness of the instructional technology needs and has helped to focus them on grant applications that will compliment the plan.
KISD has made steady progress in implementing TSPR recommendations, particularly considering that the district hired a new superintendent during the original review process. The district has implemented 28 recommendations: 51 are in various stages of progress and eight have not been addressed. This section addresses the key areas requiring additional attention.
Facility Management
The district has gathered a great deal of information on the condition of the district's facilities and demographic information to project future student enrollment. The new director of Maintenance has begun reviewing all of the information gathered. One school closing in 2002-03 and the implementation of a multi-phased $1 million facility grant will significantly affect the district's facilities and facility management. It is imperative, therefore, that all of this information be tied together into a comprehensive facility master plan (Recommendation #38) as quickly as possible, and that the community and the board be a part of the planning process.
Food Service
The Food Service Department has implemented a new point-of-sale system in the last year. This new system is capable of producing management reports to monitor productivity and, according to the Food Service director, the system has already improved participation rates. Many of the recommendations in this section of the review are in progress. At least one recommendation to develop a comprehensive nutrition program for KISD students (Recommendation #58) has been put on indefinite hold, because the implementation of the new system has taken all of the director's time and resources. Once the system is fully operational, however, TSPR urges the district to re-examine its recommendations and consider how the new system could be used to improve productivity, save money and improve educational programs, including nutritional programs to combat a national trend toward child obesity and juvenile diabetes.
Transportation
One recommendation that could potentially produce savings for the district is the purchase of an automated bus routing system (Recommendation #71). The Transportation director is examining the available software options and plans to make a purchase during the summer of 2002. In other districts that have implemented automated bus routing systems, significant savings have been possible. TSPR, therefore, encourages the district to move forward with this purchase, even though there will be an initial capital outlay, so that efficiencies can be achieved in the coming school year.
KISD's Ideas for Improving the Texas School Performance Review
The Texas School Performance Review team does not assume that its process for performing school reviews works so well that it cannot be improved. Therefore, as part of the progress report preparation, TSPR asked Kingsville ISD staff members and administrators discussed what went right and what went wrong-and how the process could be improved.
The feedback TSPR has received from other districts led to improvements in the review process. For example, early reports did not include implementation strategies, and districts told TSPR they needed help in getting started. As a result, the reports now include implementation strategies and timelines to complement the recommendations. Districts have told TSPR these blueprints are invaluable to achieving the desired results. It is important for TSPR to continually be mindful of those things that did not work as intended so that the review process can be improved.
Kingsville administrators and board members made the following observations:
Surveys sent to board members requesting their observations about the review process were generally positive, stating that the report helped the district to move forward with some unpopular, but necessary recommendations such as the closing of a school. One board member commented, "It made us aware that it is not money that makes a school district great, but how you use those funds. The curriculum alignment was the most significant aspect of your report."
Board members also shared their concerns about the review process. One board member said that it would have been beneficial for the staff to be notified that the review would not be critical of their work, but was intended to look at management issues. Although TSPR met with the superintendents of the school districts in Kleberg County at the onset of the reviews, TSPR did not meet with staff. In an effort to address the concern voiced by this board member as well as those in other districts, TSPR has begun meeting with superintendents and their key staff to go over the logistics of the review process and to provide some level of assurance to staff about the nature and intent of the review.
Members of the KISD administration said they felt that the process was beneficial as a whole and were pleased and proud of the many commendations given to the district in the original report. Many administrators, however, were concerned that during the follow-up visit they were asked to explain the status of recommendations. They said this gave the impression that TSPR's "suggestions" were expected to be implemented. While the Comptroller has no statutory authority to force a district to implement a recommendation, TSPR does tell districts from the onset that it will return to check on its progress at the end of a year. This follow-up is scheduled partly to motivate districts to move forward, but also because the Legislature asks TSPR to report on the number of recommendations implemented as part of its performance measures. More importantly, however, TSPR is interested in knowing what recommendations were useful to the district and which ones were unworkable. When a district does not benefit from a recommendation, TSPR attempts to learn why and modify future recommendations based upon the district's feedback.
