Katy ISD Board of Trustees candidates Ross Raymond and Stacy Edwards-Tomdio have responded to the second question posed in the InstantNewsKaty online candidate forum.
Raymond is challenging incumbent Robert Shaw for the Position 6 seat. Edwards-Tomdio is running against Neal Howard for Position 7.
Howard declined to take part in the forum.
Shaw initially agreed to participate, but then withdrew saying he would answer questions only if all school board candidates took part. With Howard refusing to participate, Shaw said he also would also not respond to questions.
Today’s question, as submitted by InstantNewsKaty readers, was:
“Many in our community believe that KISD communications are reactionary, slow and give the impression that KISD is not interested in being transparent. While board members can be contacted individually by e-mail with concerns, many would prefer that the board be as transparent as possible in doing the community’s business instead of waiting for groups to get angry and then respond. If elected, what specific strategies would you support to engage the community and move KISD and the board toward greater transparency and proactive communications?”
These are the candidate’s unedited responses in the order they were received:
Stacy Edwards-Tomdio –
“I have not had any personal dealings with the communication office at Katy ISD so in fairness I cannot comment on some of the question’s implications.
“I have lived in Katy for a number of years and cannot recall ever hearing of an upcoming school board meeting which was not a crisis such as the rezoning issues of about a year ago or the announcement of Mr. Frailey’s hiring as our new superintendent by the school board.
“As a mother with children enrolled in Katy schools I get notices all the time about fund raisers, band, choir, athletic events, PTA meetings and such, but nothing telling me what the Board is doing or plans to do, or how they are spending our money.
“Every now and again I hear of something like the $5,200,000+ artificial turf purchase but only after the fact when people are angry about not being consulted.
“So it seems to me there is work to be done to improve the quality and timeliness of Board communication. Other districts send out notices of meetings and even notices of action taken. I suspect we can do at least as much and probably should.
“I would like to hear from your readers what they think we should do to better address their concerns.”
Ross Raymond –
“The KISD communication department has always been responsive to my requests and I give the entire department high marks.
“I believe the better the level of communication the better the quality of the relationship. This is true for marriage & work and I believe it is true of the community’s relationship with the Board.
“The Board should:
- Send electronic notices directly to KISD stakeholders of all Board meetings with a complete agenda and a link to the “Board book” and a follow up notice listing all action taken. (I got three emails about school closures.)
- Broadcast all meetings either as a “pod cast” or post as streaming video on the KISD homepage.
- Invite those who attend Board meetings to stay for the public forum, in lieu of our “time out” approach where we “invite” the audience to leave before the Board hears comments and votes on issues.
“I would encourage the Board to transfer more of its work from the private conference suite into the public Board Room.
“The intent of the Open Meeting Law was to provide transparency of government at all levels. The Board should only be in executive session to consider specific items and not undertake discussion of unrelated matters.
“Make no mistake about it, our Board does an excellent job of following the LETTER of the law. I believe it can do a better job of living up to the SPIRIT of the law.”
Neal Howard –
Declined to take part in the forum.
Robert Shaw –
Declined to take part in the forum because Howard was not participating.
There is still time for readers to submit questions to the school board candidates. Those questions may be e-mailed to jpape@instantnewskaty.com.
Additional questions and answers will be published in the remaining days leading up to the May 9 election.
The fact that Shaw and Howard refused to participate speaks volumes to their commitment for open and transparent government. Shaw’s refusal to participate because Howard won’t is childish. Both Mr. Shaw and Mr. Howard should strive to communicate openly to our community whenever the opportunity arises. Here’s a good opportunity, fellows. Is this the type of communication we should expect if you two are elected? Sounds like more of the same to me.
Fred Hink
Katy