Progress Report
Raymondville Independent School District
October 2003Introduction
In August 2001, Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn announced her intent to conduct a review of the Raymondville Independent School District (RISD). Work began in October 2001. Comptroller Strayhorn issued a final report in April 2002 that identified RISD's exemplary programs and suggested concrete ways to improve district operations. If fully implemented, the 75 recommendations could result in net savings of nearly $4.2 million over a five-year period. The Texas School Performance Review (TSPR) staff returned in May 2003 to assess the district's progress in implementing the recommendations.
Since 1991, TSPR has recommended more then 7,600 ways to save taxpayers more than $780 million over a five-year period in 100 public school districts throughout Texas. TSPR also conducts follow-up reviews of districts that have had at least one year to implement the recommendations. These more than 60 subsequent reviews show that more than 90 percent of TSPR's proposals have been acted upon, saving taxpayers nearly $135 million, with the full savings estimated to grow in the future.
Improving the Texas School Performance Review
Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, 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 TSPR more valuable, even vital, to the state's more than 1,000 school districts. With the perspective of a former teacher, and school board president, the Comptroller has vowed to steer TSPR toward increased accountability to local school districts and the communities they represent. Comptroller Strayhorn 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 Tom Green County.
Recognizing that only about 51 cents of every education dollar is spent on instruction, Comptroller Strayhorn'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 Strayhorn has ordered TSPR to share best practices and exemplary programs 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 Strayhorn 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 on the Web at www.aimsdatabase.org.
Under Comptroller Strayhorn'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 Strayhorn 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.
On October 29, 2001, when TSPR began its review, RISD was in a state of turmoil. On June 7, 2001, the board had voted unanimously to declare the district to be in a state of financial exigency, which allows the district to conduct a reduction-in-force to address financial concerns without regard for existing contract terms. During the same board meeting, the board presented a letter from the superintendent tendering his resignation and appointed a new interim superintendent; terminated the district financial advisor and employed a new financial advisor; terminated the district auditor and employed a new auditor; and accepted the resignation of the district's law firm. Significant personnel changes followed the June 7 board meeting. Many contracts were not renewed and realignment of duties took place districtwide. Trace Consulting Services Inc., a San Antonio-based consulting firm, was contracted to assist with the RISD review. The team interviewed district employees, school board members, parents, business leaders and community members and held one public forum at the high school, on October 30, 2001 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. To obtain additional comments, the review team conducted numerous small focus group sessions with teachers, principals, employees, students, parents and community members.
In an effort to ensure that all stakeholders had an opportunity to provide input, surveys were sent to teachers, students, administration, support staff and parents. The review team received 429 responses from: 78 school and central administrators and support staff; 95 teachers; 207 parents; and 49 students.
The review team also consulted two databases of comparative educational information maintained by the TEA-the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) and the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS).
RISD selected peer districts for comparisons based on similarities in student enrollment, student performance and community and student demographics. The selected peer districts were Lyford Consolidated ISD, Mathis ISD, Taft ISD and West Oso ISD. TSPR also compared RISD to district averages in TEA's Regional Education Service Center I (Region 1), in which RISD is located, and to the state as a whole.
Located in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Raymondville, which has a population of 9,733, lies about 20 miles from Harlingen. The region is primarily agricultural. The Willacy County district is bordered on the north by Kenedy Countywide Common School District, on the east by San Perlita ISD, on the south by Lasara ISD and on the west by Lyford Consolidated ISD.
The district has four schools, including two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. The district also includes a central administration complex, a maintenance/transportation facility, a sports complex, an auditorium and an old high school building built in 1924 that the district leases Raymondville for use as a historical center.
In 2002-03, RISD served 2,648 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. These students consisted of 96.4 percent Hispanic, 3.2 percent Anglo and 0.4 percent other. The district has 90 percent of its students classified as economically disadvantaged.
RISD's 2001-02 Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) passing rate was 83 percent on all tests taken, an improvement over its 2000-01 passing rate of 81 percent and above the regional average of 81.2 percent, but below the state average of 85.3 percent.
In 2002-03, the district employed a staff of 388 of which teachers make up 46 percent. The district spent $18.1 million in 2001-02 and budgeted $18.1 million for 2002-03. In 2002-03, RISD spent 45.8 cents of every tax dollar on classroom instruction compared to the state average of 51 cents. Since TSPR released its report in April 2002, many district personnel and operational changes have occurred. The majority of the changes resulted from the district's financial condition. A new superintendent was hired and assumed duties on July 15, 2002. On July 20 the superintendent became aware that the 2002-03 budget, which had to be approved by the board in August, had not been prepared.
As the superintendent developed the budget she realized that the district would be short $1.6 million to fund current operations. Twenty-five percent was cut from most non-salary items and all hiring was frozen along with freezes for all board-approved salary schedules. Simultaneously, the district learned that the federally-funded migrant program would be decreased by $300,000 from previous years. To balance the budget, personnel positions had to be reduced. Although no employees had to be fired, vacant positions at the district-level were not filled, and two administrative personnel filled vacant school-based positions. Additionally, the district eliminated 13 positions, including one curriculum coordinator, six middle school teachers, three high school teachers, one administrative secretary and two bus drivers.
The district hired a new business manager on September 30, 2003, and a new accountant in February 2003.
The superintendent reported that many challenges the district faced have been addressed but much more remains to be accomplished. Because of the time required to make the large number of changes, much of the formal documentation of procedural changes and plans for the future have not been formalized and compiled into written and approved documents.
During 2001-02, TEA continued to rate the district Academically Acceptable, and Pittman Elementary and Smith Elementary received Recognized ratings.
While the district still has work to do, RISD staff and the TSPR team members agree that the district has made steady progress, especially considering the many challenges confronting the district during the last year. The district has implemented 37 recommendations; has 28 in various stages of development; not yet addressed eight; and rejected two recommendations not considered feasible at this time. (See Appendix A for details on the recommendations' status.)
Raymondville ISD Report Card
Excellent = More than 80% complete
Chapter Total Complete In Progress Not Implemented Rejected Percent Complete/ In Progress Grades District Organization and Management 9 3 4 2 0 33%/44% Needs Work Educational Service Delivery 12 7 2 2 1 58%/17% Needs Work Personnel Management 5 0 4 1 0 0%/80% Satisfactory Facilities Use and Management 7 4 3 0 0 57%/43% Satisfactory Asset and Risk Management 11 7 3 1 0 64%/27% Satisfactory Financial Management 7 4 2 0 1 57%/29% Satisfactory Purchasing and Contract Management 8 1 6 1 0 13%/75% Satisfactory Food Services 5 5 0 0 0 100%/0% Excellent Transportation 4 2 1 1 0 50%/25% Needs Work Computers and Technology 7 4 3 0 0 57%/43% Satisfactory Overall Grade 75 37 28 8 2 49%/37% Satisfactory
Satisfactory = 80% to 100% complete or in progress
Needs Work = Less than 80% complete or in progressExemplary Programs and Practices
TSPR identified numerous "best practices" in RISD. Through commendations in each chapter, the report highlights model programs, operations and services provided by RISD administrators, teachers and staff. The Comptroller encourages other school districts throughout Texas to examine these exemplary programs and services to see if they could be adapted to meet local needs. TSPR's commendations include the following:
- RISD uses multiple internal reviews and a review by Region 1 to ensure that its PEIMS submission to TEA is error-free. RISD has received recognition from Region 1 for a zero rejection rate of PEIMS submission since 1995. RISD runs its data through several internal and external reviews to ensure errors are identified and corrected prior to submitting it to TEA.
The new superintendent understands the importance of accurate PEIMS reporting and has a placed a high priority on continuing error-free reporting.
- RISD's Migrant Program keeps students in school and targets student performance. RISD's Migrant Education Program received a district award at the Texas Annual Migrant Education Conference and its schools won the second and third highest awards in the campus category. The awards are determined by dropout rates and TAAS scores among migrant students. RISD's main goal for the migrant program is to help migrant students succeed academically by implementing instructional activities for core subjects to improve student performance. In addition, the district offers leadership training and tutorial classes for students and encourages parents to be involved in their children's' education through various activities.
The district continues this program, which requires constant attention to ensure compliance with all federal laws and guidelines. The federal programs director continuously monitors the schools' expenditures and compliance with federal law, rules and guidelines to ensure the district does not lose any money to which it is entitled.
- RISD encourages higher education and parental involvement through its GEAR UP program. The GEAR UP program is an alliance among University of Texas Pan American and other educational, business and community organizations. Its mission is to increase the number of students who are prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education. GEAR UP selects 20 parents or community members to promote student academic success through community education, literacy classes for GEAR UP parents, tutors for students, resource referral, speakers for parent sessions and distribution of parent involvement kits to teachers.
RISD continues the GEAR UP program and believes the program continues to be a success.
- RISD uses both Region 1 resources and a private industry contract to improve food service operations. Chartwells, a private sector food management company, has provided the district with an action plan outlining tasks and actions to be implemented by individual schools in RISD. Recommendations include eliminating staff through attrition; comparing profit and loss statements to the budget; and establishing Youth Advisory Councils at schools. As a result of these recommendations, RISD's Food Service operation has made a profit for 2001-02 of over $57,000 as of December 2001.
The contract with Chartwells was renewed for 2003-04. A new assessment component was added to include student surveys to help identify areas for improvement. Data from the survey will be routinely shared with the board.
- RISD provides computers to students through grants and other funding sources. With an average of 2.7 students to each computer, RISD has met the mid-term goal and is on target to achieve TEA's long-range goal of a 1 to 1 ratio before 2010. RISD received approximately $1.1 million in 1998-99 through 2000-01 through several types of state and federal assistance for technology including Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (TIF) grants and the federal E-Rate discount.
RISD is in the process of evaluating the district's overall technology needs with the assistance of a contracted technology consultant. Once the technology committee receives all data, it will formulate a multiple-year plan to continue increasing the number of computers per student and also provide employees with technological enhancements to improve all aspects of classroom technologies.
The following are some of the key recommendations that administrators and staff said 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. District administrators made these comments during the TSPR team's follow-up visit to the seven district.
District Organization and Management
Recommendation 1: Develop and implement standard board operating procedures that are aligned with the RISD Board Code of Ethics. The superintendent said this recommendation was important because at the time of the original review, the board was not working well together, staff morale was low and community members were upset with the board. With representatives from Region 1 and theassigned TEA monitor assisting, the board developed and adopted a set of standard board operating procedures. To reaffirm the board's commitment to use the operating procedures, the board re-adopted them on May 7, 2003 after newly elected board members assumed their duties. The superintendent reported that board meetings have been conducted in a very orderly manner since the adoption of the procedures. Many of the original problems, such as failing to follow state law, violating board policies, micromanagement and promoting personal agendas, have been eliminated by using the board-operating procedures.
Recommendation 3: Conduct district business in compliance with district policies and procedures. The new superintendent continually emphasizes to district staff that all actions have to be conducted in compliance with approved policies and procedures. The superintendent conducted staff training on all board and district policies in 2002-03. District administrators and staff review all agenda items prior to their presentation to the board to ensure they comply with existing policies. Board members are very aware of the commitment of the superintendent's office to ensure compliance with district policies and procedures. Many times references are made to the actions that are being taken to ensure that the policies have been considered when making decisions. To make board policies more accessible to district staff and the public, the district contracted with the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) to post board policies on RISD's Web site in fall 2003.
Educational Service Delivery
Recommendation 10: Develop goals and strategies to target the academic needs of students who are retained. Since some district retention rates are double the state average, the new superintendent placed addressing this recommendation as a high priority. A joint meeting of high school and middle school staff was conducted to discuss and develop plans to address the needs of retained students. The district is finalizing a process to encourage and assist students who have been retained and their parents to develop an individualized plan to address the student's needs in order for the student to graduate. The new superintendent is holding the secondary principals responsible for this implementation.
Recommendation 19: Develop district procedures that ensure DAEP students' academic needs are met. The DAEP for the Raymondville High School was moved from the middle school setting to a vacant building near the administration/business office complex. The high school administration and the police department are working in concert to ensure that the DAEP students academic needs are being met. Although there are no formal district procedures, the district revamped the DAEP class to include daily schedules for each class. The superintendent said she consults frequently with DAEP teachers to ensure that they understand their responsibilities in meeting the needs of the students. The superintendent also visits the class to ensure it is being conducted in a manner to meet the needs of the students.
Recommendation 21: Develop a district truancy plan that includes procedures and performance measures to improve attendance. The original report noted that while attendance had been improving each year since 1996-97, attendance remains below the state average. By developing and implementing a comprehensive truancy plan, developed by the district's new dropout/truancy coordinator, the district has increased efforts to improve attendance. The implementation of the plan has been credited with increasing the district's average daily attendance by 32 in 2002-03 over 2001-02. In addition, the district anticipates that the increased attendance will result in more than $150,000 in additional revenues by 2006-07.
Personnel Management
Recommendation 26: Implement staffing allocation formulas and reduce staff based upon those formulas. Although the district has not completed a formal staffing allocation formula for all school levels, the superintendent required a master schedule to be prepared before teacher contracts were issued in March 2003. The master schedule resulted in the identification of five teacher positions that would not be renewed for 2003-04. The superintendent coordinated staffing allocations with district management staff when developing the 2003-04 budget.
Asset and Risk Management
Recommendation 42: Assign principals and department management staff custody for fixed assets and conduct an annual physical inventory. The district conducted a complete fixed assets inventory that serves as the basis for assigning responsibility and accountability for fixed assets located at each school and department. Each principal and department manager signs the inventory sheets accepting custodianship for the items in their care. Transfer forms are prepared when items move from one district location to another.
Financial Management
Recommendation 47: Implement a budget process that includes a budget calendar and involves campus administrators and program supervisors in budget development and monitoring. The development of a formal budget calendar was one of the first activities accomplished by the new business manager during the creation of the 2002-03 budget. The budget process starts with the business manager meeting with the site-based decision-making teams to coordinate budget information into the district and campus improvement plans. The budget calendar is distributed to district staff. Principals and directors are asked to submit non-salary items, salary items and special project items. The federal program director clarifies the appropriate dollars that can be used for salary items and non-salary items. The federal program director also meets frequently with the business manager to ensure correct allocation of federal funds for the salaries of migrant, bilingual, G/T and ESL employees.
Recommendation 50: Establish a general fund balance management policy and require the business manager to report fund balance levels to the board. After completion of the 2000-01 and 2001-02 annual financial audits, the RISD board adopted a policy and finalized the plan that included designating an "undesignated" reserve account and several "designated" reserve accounts for various construction projects. The fund balance goal was established to match TEA's recommended optimum level. To keep board members informed of the fund's status, the business manager makes regular reports to the board. RISD's fund balance at the end of 2001-02 was 4.3 percent, significantly below TEA-recommended levels.
Purchasing and Contract Management
Recommendation 52: Develop and implement a comprehensive purchasing procedures manual and provide training to district personnel. While work remains to be done in this area, employee training has begun. The new business manager has developed a generic manual and is enhancing the manual to include the unique processing requirements for RISD. Emphasis is being placed on using the state bid list, the QISV and joining several purchasing cooperatives. The updated manual is scheduled for completion in fall 2003.
Food Services
Recommendation 61: Establish a meals per labor hour standard, improve productivity and reduce labor to meet the standard. A meals per labor hour standard has been developed for each of the cafeterias and is monitored on a daily basis. The elementary schools adopted an 18-19 meals per labor hour standard and the other schools adopted a 17 meals per labor hour standard, up from the district average of 16.6 meals per labor hour. As a result of implementing the standards, two positions were not filled when employees retired. The district has saved $29,000 in labor costs to date and anticipates saving $145,000 by 2006-07, more than the original estimate.
Transportation
Recommendation 66: Evaluate bus driver workload and optimize work schedules to minimize employee downtime. RISD bus drivers also work part-time for the Maintenance Department. Evaluating the bus drivers' schedules and coordinating them with maintenance duties has eliminated two bus driver positions.
RISD made some progress implementing TSPR's recommendations in the past year, but many important recommendations have not been addressed and many others have been started but do not appear to be making good progress. As a result, the district has left nearly $3 million in potential savings over the five years on the table, dollars that are critical for a district with low reserve balances. The district has implemented 37 recommendations, 28 are in various stages of progress and eight have not been implemented. RISD rejected two recommendations. This section of the report addresses the areas that require additional and immediate attention.
District Organization and Management
The district is still not planning for its future, a problem identified in the original review. Although progress has been made in implementing some management processes, for the district to achieve lasting results it needs to establish a long-range, five-year strategic planning committee (Recommendation 4) to address the district's needs and formalize a plan to address those needs. The original report cited that the district had conducted no strategic planning since December 2000, and the district has struggled for several years with financial problems. Strategic planning compels districts to think about their future and provides tools for dealing with crises as they arise.
RISD has also addressed some safety issues that face the district but has yet to formalize a districtwide safety plan (Recommendation 7) to ensure that the district's safety needs are continually evaluated and any corrective actions are immediately addressed. Effective planning allows districts to prepare for the future. Planning committees ensure local support for district projects and plans. Safety plans ensure children have a clean, ordered and safe environment in which to learn and prepare district staff to effectively deal with crises when they occur.
Educational Service Delivery
The district did not implement Recommendation 14, which suggested expanding the curricular options for gifted and talented students; nor did it implement Recommendation 20, which recommended the district develop and implement a drug and violence prevention plan. In addition, the district chose to reject Recommendation 17, which involved reopening the Parent Resource Centers.
The district did not provide any reason why it had not expanded curricular opportunities for gifted and talented students. The original recommendation stated the gifted and talented program was not coordinated between schools and that delivery of services was inconsistent, even though the district spends eight times more per gifted child than the state average. At the time of the review, RISD identified fewer G/T students than all its peer districts and less than half the state average.
While RISD requires principals to develop activity schedules that include regular guest speakers on drug and violence prevention, the district has not developed a plan that integrates prevention, intervention and enforcement to control drug use and violence on its campuses. The original report identified a significant drug and alcohol problem on campuses, with children as young as the fourth grade using alcohol and marijuana. The district has not followed up in any organized manner to address the problem of drug use and violence on its campuses, an area that needs immediate attention so that students have a safe and healthy environment in which to learn.
In addition, the district rejected reopening the Parent Resource Centers (Recommendation 17), citing financial limitations. The district should strongly reconsider this recommendation and reopen this community resource.
Personnel Management
The district has made a number of personnel management improvements, but three important recommendations remain in progress and one has not been implemented.
The superintendent has developed a process to determine staffing levels based on master schedules for campuses. However, the district has not formalized staffing allocation formulas (Recommendation 26) that would help the district ensure that appropriate staffing levels are maintained for all positions and that will provide the district with additional cost savings. While the district estimates its current method will yield a five-year savings of $817,132, adopting staffing formulas could save $3.2 million - dollars that can and should be used to address student needs and improve classroom instruction.
District administrators have not developed formal job descriptions for all positions and have not formalized a process to ensure employees are evaluated annually (Recommendations 24 and 25). Job descriptions ensure staff members understand the jobs they are being hired to perform and set the minimum level of performance for a job. Annual evaluations ensure staff members perform their jobs correctly and receive appropriate feedback on their performance.
The district has not taken steps to develop a districtwide employee's handbook (Recommendation 23) that most districts have found extremely beneficial in providing employees with information directly related to their employment. Employee handbooks outline employee responsibilities and guidelines and help protect districts from liability in instances of employee misconduct, sexual harassment, wrongful termination claims and payroll claims.
Transportation
The district has not conducted a study to determine how a staggered bell schedule can be implemented (Recommendation 65), but indicated that one would be performed. This study should be conducted in the near future to provide significant savings for the district in both the number of buses that it must operate and maintain and also from reduced salary costs for drivers.
By completing this recommendation, the district will save money and improve its overall operations and management of its personnel while reducing potential liability issues.
RISD'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 RISD board members and administrators 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 getting started. As a result, the reports now include Implementation Strategies and Timelines to complement the recommendations.
District officials have told TSPR these blueprints are invaluable to achieving the desired results. It is important however, for TSPR staff to be mindful of those things that did not work as intended so that the review process can be improved.
The RISD superintendent noted that staff members involved in the review stated that the review was intense and focused on both negative and positive comments about the district. Others indicated that the process was helpful.
RISD board members also responded to a request for follow-up comments and made the following observations: "The financial management and staffing were most significant because we need a strong business manager with financial experience." "The findings were accurate and the recommendations are well received."
TSPR also heard that individuals felt the report focused on too many negative comments from community members. TSPR edits comments for brevity, decorum, propriety and accuracy wherever possible. Many community comments gathered as part of the RISD review were not included in the final published report because they were of a personal nature concerning board members and administrators and had no bearing on the report. TSPR attempts to strike a balance between providing enough information to outline the problems facing the district without providing a forum for community members to attack personalities or individuals. This will continue to be a goal for TSPR in the future.
