Decker has been serving as interim executive director of athletics since the retirement of Rusty Dowling in January 2012.

Decker has been with Katy ISD since 2005 as assistant athletic director.  She has been responsible for assisting in the overall organization and administration of the Katy ISD Athletic Department.

Prior to joining Katy ISD, Decker served assistant athletic director for McKinney ISD.

Decker holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M Commerce, and a Master of Education from Tarleton State University – where she also earned her principal certification. 

She is also a NIAAA Certified Athletic Administrator, and holds an all-level physical education lifetime certificate.

The Katy ISD Department of Athletics oversees the athletic programs of all six Katy ISD high schools and 12 junior high programs. 

Katy ISD athletic programs have been successful state-wide, with the district winning 16 state team championships.

For Katy City Council, both Ward A incumbent Carol Adams and Ward B incumbent Larry Gore have filed for re-election.

Mayor Pro-Tem Hank Schmidt’s at-large seat has drawn two contenders. Both former councilman Steve Pierson and security supervisor James Clifford Mendez, Jr. have qualified to run for the position.

Schmidt has not filed for re-election.

In the school board race, Position 6, currently held by veteran trustee Robert Shaw, and Position 7, held by first-term trustee Neal Howard, will be on the ballot.

Howard has filed for another term on the school board. He is being challenged by training technician and former Katy ISD employee Betty J. Powell.

Former Golbow Elementary principal Terri Majors has filed for the Position 6 seat. Incumbent Shaw has not filed for re-election.

Filing for a spot on the ballot will continue through March 5.

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Additionally, the district is reminding families that being prepared is the best way to stay safe with what can sometimes be unpredictable weather at this time of the year.

Southeast Texas, in particular the Katy Prairie area, is prone to severe weather including flooding and tornadoes, which often occur with little or no warning.  As such, Katy ISD participates in numerous emergency drills throughout the school year, such as evacuation and lockdown drills. However, Severe Weather Awareness Week allows students and staff to focus on preparation for various severe weather threats including flash flooding, tornadoes, hail, high winds, and lightning.

Each campus is equipped with a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather radio, providing school officials with a continuous broadcast of the latest weather information directly from the National Weather Service offices.

“These radios are critical for our school officials as the radios provide them with critical and potential life-saving messages; and provide quick notification about approaching threats, which allows our schools to act in a timely manner,” said John Bremer, Katy ISD Emergency Management Coordinator.

Katy ISD also encourages students to work with their families to develop an emergency plan for their home that includes family strategies, evacuation routes, sheltering locations, checklists and special consideration for pets.

“We have already seen our fair share of unpredictable weather in just these first few weeks of 2012,” Bremer said. “This is why we encourage families to be prepared by creating and reviewing emergency plans for their household.”

As part of Katy ISD’s commitment to student safety, campuses are also required to develop an emergency operations plan which outlines specific procedures to follow when hurricanes, storms, or excessive cold or heat is expected. These plans are designed and tested at least semi-annually so that students anywhere on the school grounds can be quickly alerted and follow their present plan of action to safety.

The Waller County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Felicia Moon, 55, and James Thomas, 50, were both arrested for having sex in public at a camp for the Prairie View Trail Ride.

The trail ride was making its annual trek from Prairie View to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo when the incident occurred.

According to police reports, the trail ride was making camp when authorities spotted the couple engaged in a sexual act. They were then arrested on the public lewdness charges.

At last check, no bond had been set for either Moon or Thomas.

According to ride organizers, deputies did not immediately inform them of the incident.

The ride is continuing as scheduled.

Robinson will appear in the Cyber Lounge of the HCC Katy Campus from 12:30 – 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 29.

Robinson will appear courtesy of The Innocence Project, a national organization that seeks to free wrongfully imprisoned citizens through DNA testing.

In 1986, Robinson was arrested on the University of Houston’s campus after UH police noticed he matched the description a rape victim had provided of her attacker. Robinson was sentenced to 27 years even though facts proved his fingerprints did not match those taken from the crime scene, and his description did not match the initial description of the attacker.

During Robinson’s trial, DNA testing was not admitted as evidence in Harris County courts.

Robinson remained in a state penitentiary for 10 years before being placed on parole.

After being released, he located an attorney, took a DNA test and proved his innocence. He was finally pardoned in 2000.

Robinson graduated from Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law and now works as a consultant in international trade and law.

This free community event is sponsored by HCC’s Pandora’s Box, an exploration into literature and culture.

The HCC Katy Campus is located at 1550 Fox Lake Drive.

For more information, contact Steve Wolfe at 713-718-5467 or e-mail steve.wolfe@hccs.edu.

More than 1,000 junior high and high school students from all across Texas will be participating at the scientific competition. They will be divided into approximately 15 junior high teams and 15 high school teams, all of which will be vying for a spot in the next state meet.

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The final item listed on Monday night’s agenda was “Announcement: Superintendent’s report to the board on recent news articles.”

As the board got to the final item, Frailey did not speak. Instead, Adams began to present the “superintendent’s report.”

That brought an immediate “point or order” from Trustee Bill Proctor.

Initially, Adams attempted to continue reading, but Proctor insisted his point of order be recognized. Only then did Adams acknowledge Proctor.

Proctor reminded Adams that he and several other trustees had asked last year if both a superintendent’s report and a trustees’ report could be added to the end of every agenda. They were informed that such reports would violate the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act because they were “not specific in nature.”

Proctor asked why Frailey was now being given the opportunity to present such a report when they had previously been told it would be illegal.

“We were told we could not have comments and we could not have board member reports,” Proctor said.

A visibly-agitated Adams replied “there’s nothing being presented tonight.”

Proctor pressed his point, insisting for a ruling on the legality of the item and asking Assistant Superintendent for Governance and Legal Affairs Bonnie Holland for her opinion.

“We were told that could not be done, right Ms. Holland?” Proctor asked.

Holland responded she believed the agenda statement was adequately specific because it said Frailey would be responding to news articles.

“News is pretty vague,” Proctor responded. “If that’s legal, I would like to see board member reports on news articles on every agenda from now on.”

Adams again told Proctor there would be “no report presented tonight” and told him he would understand if he allowed Adams to complete reading the statement without raising any more points of order.

Adams then read a statement that said Frailey was presenting written information to all board members refuting information that appeared in “an online publication on Jan. 23” in which specific allegations were made against the superintendent.

“His report is being handed out at this time,” Adams said as large envelopes were circulated among board members.

Without allowing further comment, Adams closed the meeting.

“This meeting is adjourned,” he said, pounding the gavel on the board table.

Earlier today, the school district issued a press release saying “Superintendent Frailey presented a written report to the board at the request of Board President Joe Adams.”

The release went on to say the response was to “allegations made in a January 23, 2012 article posted online entitled, ‘Proctor: Frailey, Linebarger, Trustees and Consultants Part of ‘Good Old Boy’ System,’ as well as a January 24, 2012 article posted online entitled, ‘KISD Trustees Table Action on Controversial Tax Collection Proposals.’

Both the articles appeared on InstantNewsKaty.

In the articles, which focus on the recent discussions surrounding the delinquent tax collection contract, allegations were made by Proctor and Trustee Terry Huckaby that Frailey had withheld information from board members; that the superintendent exceeded his authority in developing an RFP for delinquent tax collections and tax office operations; and that the board had no knowledge or discussion of an RFP for tax office operations.

Frailey’s report addressed each of the allegations with documents he said refutes the assertions that he has acted inappropriately.

One of the examples Frailey cited was a Nov. 9, 2011 memo to the board of trustees in which he explains that the purchasing department is developing an RFP for Delinquent Tax Collections and Tax Office Operations. In the memo, he also invited board members to let him know if they have any questions or additional considerations for the RFP.

“For someone to claim on Jan. 23 that they had no knowledge that the RFP would include Tax Office Operations does not ring true when it was clearly stated in my Nov. 9 memo,” Frailey said. “I believe that documents provided in my report clearly show that I have not withheld information, have not exceeded my authority, and that board members did know about the RFP for Tax Office Operations. Unfortunately, it seems as though some have used this contract discussion to make unwarranted and baseless claims for no other reason than to discredit me and bring harm to the district.”

The full contents of Frailey’s report can be found on the Katy ISD website at www.katyisd.org.

Four candidates are running to replace retiring Sheriff Milton Wright. They include Craig Brady, John Minchew, Troy Nehls and Billy Frank Teague.

Brady is the current Fort Bend County Chief Deputy, Minchew is a veteran law enforcement officer and chair of the Missouri City Public Safety Committee, Nehls is the Fort Bend County Pct. 4 Constable and Teague is a retired Texas DPS trooper and Richmond Police commander with 44 years of law enforcement experience.

The forum will be held at the Fort Bend County North Annex, just south of Cinco Ranch. The event will begin at 6 p.m. with a meet-and-greet of the candidates, followed by the forum at 7 p.m.

The panel questioning the candidates will include former Texas Ranger Jeff Cook, former Katy VFW Post Commander Peyton Lumpkin and John Pape, editorial director for InstantNewsNetwork.

The forum will be moderated by Lance Beloney.

The format of the forum will be:

• Opening Statements – 2 minutes each
• Two questions by each panelist – 2 minutes each answer
• Each candidate asks one question to other candidates – 30 second question; 1 minute answers
• Questions from the audience, if time permits
• Closing statements

The Fort Bend County North Annex is located at 22333 Grand Corner Drive on the northeast corner of the West Park Toll Road and Grand Parkway.

Refreshments will be provided.

In recent months, the board and the Superintendent Alton Frailey have been embroiled in an increasingly-contentious controversy over whether the district should accept Frailey’s recommendation of a firm to collect the district’s delinquent taxes and provide tax office operations.

Frailey has recommended the firm of Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson over a competing proposal from the firm of Perdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins & Mott. At least two trustees – Proctor and Terry Huckaby – have suggested the evaluation process has been biased in favor of the Linebarger firm.

Some in the community have suggested political contributions from the two firms may have influenced the debate. For that reason, Proctor said, he chose to voluntarily release the list of donors to his election campaign last May.

Proctor’s campaign reports showed a total of $1,805 in contributions, none of which came from either the Linebarger firm or the Perdue firm.

For the April 14, 2011 reporting period, Proctor showed two contributions. They were as follows:

• Susan Jordan – $100.00
• Sharon Roberts – $75.00

For the May 6, 2011 reporting period, six contributions were reported:

• Arthur Miller – $350
• Debora Thompson – $100
• William McCowin – $100
• Eloise Gunter – $230
• Mike Ryan – $500
• Marvin Marek – $100

On the June 13, 2011 report, one additional contribution was shown:

• B&B Amenities – $100

“I think it’s important for the public to know who’s making these contributions and to whom, and I hope all my fellow board members will make an effort to release this information. It is public information and readily-available, but I think it would be a show of good faith for all trustees to go to the extra effort to make this information public,” Proctor said. “I’m not saying anyone was influenced by any contribution, but I think in the interest of transparency we as a board should be very open when these issues come up.”

Trustees tabled action on the proposals at last month’s school board meeting.

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The event will begin at 7 a.m. in the Life Center of The Fellowship at Cinco Ranch.

Those attending will be able to meet the leading nonprofit organizations in the Katy area and learn about the many outreach programs and volunteer opportunities available in the community.

“In one place, you will discover the mission, vision and heart of each participating organization. We believe that by becoming better aware of what each organization seeks to accomplish, that we will all be better equipped to serve the diverse needs of our community,” organizers said. “Through this event, we also hope that nonprofit organizations will learn from each other, working together to become more successful in service, leaping forward with a synergy never seen before.”

For further details, contact Diane Walker at diane@compassionkaty.org or 281-395-1130.

The Life Center at The Fellowship at Cinco Ranch is located at 22765 Westheimer Parkway.

The event was chaired by Lori Gunn and included recognition of chamber honorees, dinner and live entertainment.

The highlight of the evening was the recognition of Katy’s 2011 Volunteer of the Year, Business of the Year and Citizen of the Year. 

Volunteer of the Year

The 2011 Katy Area Chamber of Commerce Volunteers of the Year are The ARC of Katy.

“Their service and volunteer efforts in the Katy area make the lives of others better.  It is a shining example of what makes our area such a nice place to live,” the chamber noted in making the award.

Formed in 1990, the ARC of Katy is a 501(c) (3) corporation working to create opportunities for all children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Its goal is to enable each of their students to be a participating and respected member of our community and to grow in mind, body and spirit.

Over the years, the ARC of Katy has sponsored dances, parties and occasional picnics for families of those with intellectual disabilities to provide an array of social activity for its participants.

The ARC of Katy Adult Activity Day Program opened in February 2005.  This program is essential for the participants with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Part of the program is an extensive outreach to the community through volunteering.  The participants volunteer weekly for the City of Katy, Keep Katy Beautiful, Katy ISD, Katy Area Chamber of Commerce, Katy YMCA and numerous other organizations.

“ARC members and Day Program participants have a ‘Can Do’ attitude and are always ready to help in the community,” the chamber said. “The ARC of Katy is an outstanding example of the spirit of giving back to the community.  Their commitment to volunteering in the Katy community is exceptional.  The Katy Area Chamber of Commerce is honored to recognize The ARC of Katy for their service to the Katy community.”

Business of the Year

The chamber also recognized CHRISTUS St. Catherine Hospital as the 2011 Business of the Year.

“Since its opening in 2000, CHRISTUS St. Catherine Hospital has grown nearly as fast as the Katy community. The Catholic-based hospital has doubled in size, tripled its emergency room capacity, expanded medical services and procedures, and added new buildings to its campus,” the chamber said in presenting the award. “Their mission is to serve the community through partnership, compassion and stewardship. As a Catholic, faith-based, mission-driven hospital, it gives back to the community through a variety of direct healthcare programs as a living, breathing image of its mission.”

Some of the ways the hospital has reached out to the community include:

• Celebrate Your Princess Breast Cancer Awareness Walk: In its third year in 2011, 600 princesses and princes participated, raising $25,000 for community cancer awareness programs.
• Support the Girls Luncheon:  The first-ever event in 2011, organized by volunteers, community leaders and educators in the Greater Katy area, raised $15,000 for the CHRISTUS St. Catherine Breast Cancer Awareness Fund.
• Mammogram Mondays:  Community outreach initiative in which CHRISTUS St. Catherine Hospital, in partnership with physicians and nurse practitioners, administers mammograms and cancer screenings to medically underserved women who are patients of local area clinics like Breath of Life Clinic, Christ Clinic and Fort Bend Family Health Center.
• Wee See Vision Program:  A partnership with local ophthalmologists to provide eye exams and corrective lenses for medically underserved students in Katy ISD.  Area physicians discount products and service costs.  Wee See funds the balance with a small co-pay, depending on the family’s financial situation.
• Heart of Katy Fun Run and Walk: A certified and sanctioned 5K event that raises funds for the CHRISTUS St. Catherine Heart Program, which funds Katy’s only Comprehensive Heart Program for cardiac education, wellness and outreach.
• Cancer Education and Prevention Program: community benefit plan that sponsors events including free skin cancer screenings during Skin Cancer Awareness month in May.
• Mobile Health Unit: parks at Christ Clinic in Katy once a month to perform health screenings, blood pressure checks and blood sugar testing for the underserved in the Katy community.
• Sport the Pink: CHRISTUS St. Catherine Hospital in Katy and the Southern Indoor Football League, Houston Stallions teamed together in May, 2011 at the Merrell Center to support breast cancer awareness.

“CHRISTUS St. Catherine has consistently exceeded the Katy community’s expectations.  Their partnership and commitment to the community is an inspiration,” the chamber said. “The Katy Area Chamber of Commerce is honored to recognize the tremendous contribution CHRISTUS St. Catherine Hospital makes to the quality of life in the Katy community.”

Citizen of the Year

Resident Ray Wolman joined a distinguished list of honorees recognized for their contributions to the Katy community by being named the 2011 recipient of the Katy Area Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award.

After graduating from Texas A & M University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife Science, Wolman was hired as the only biology teacher at Katy’s only high school at the time. In a small 2A district where the railroad and growing rice were the main focus of families, Wolman was the lone science teacher.

Wolman has also been instrumental in the development and operation of Katy ISD’s Outdoor Learning Center.

In the fall of 1980, a 34.5 acre wooded tract of land West of Katy High School was acquired by Katy ISD.  The school district and community developed a long range plan to establish an outdoor classroom for students in this quickly expanding community. Over a period of two years, the Outdoor Learning Center grew from a dream and long range plan to a unique school district facility.

The living history classroom includes a pioneer classroom, an early general store, Texas Indian and Western Heritage displays, pioneer tools and home displays and general information on the History of Katy.

A homing pigeon loft is on the site near the barn and is used by all grades levels to learn the habits of homing pigeons. Each class takes a pigeon to their own campus, and then sends the pigeon back to the OLC with a note attached. The teachers received an email from Wolman letting the students know when the pigeon had arrived and what was in their note.

Wolman has also worked with more than 50 Boy Scouts to obtain their Eagle Scout Award through projects at the center. Because of this partnership, many Boy Scout meetings and Arrow of Light ceremonies are held at the center on an annual basis.

Wolman has also been instrumental in the annual Katy ISD Folk Life Festival, and event attended by more than 3,000 people annually. Visitors to the festival learn more about the life of the early settlers of Texas and experiencing a day in the environmentally friendly outdoor facility that Wolman helped create for the families of the Katy community.

The chamber noted Wolman has also demonstrated a strong commitment to the community through his service to the First Baptist Church of Katy, Katy FFA Rodeo Parade Committee, Katy A&M Alumni Scholarship Committee, 12th Man Foundation at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University Former Students’ Association, Katy Heritage Society, Texas Gourd Society, American Gourd Society, Purple Martin Society, Texas Bluebird Society, Houston A&M Club, Blinn College Alumni Association, Stephen F. Austin University Alumni Association, Keep Texas Beautiful and Chappell Hill Historical Society.

“A 40 year retired Katy educator, Wolman has made it his primary focus and responsibility to educate and empower the students, parents and citizens of our area to improve our environment.  Ray Wolman is a shining role model and truly a patient man dedicated to making a difference is his community and schools,” the chamber said. “The Katy Area Chamber of Commerce considers it a privilege to recognize Ray Wolman for his accomplishments and service to the Katy community.”

Three seats for the district board will be on the May ballot.

The positions up for election are currently held by Board President Tony Garza, Vice President E.C. “Chip” Norris and Board Secretary John C. Erwin.

The water well sparking the controversy is planned for the golf course area near the corner of Cinco Ranch Boulevard and Cinco Lakes Drive.

Opponents of the well said the planned location would result in lower residential property values. They claim the well would better be suited in a commercial area despite the commercial location possibly increasing the cost of the project. They also said the current board has not been receptive to discussing an alternative location and affected property owners feel their only option is to elect board members who are more open to considering alternate locations.

Representatives from Cornerstone MUD have not responded to a request for comment.

Cornerstone MUD is comprised of several neighborhoods straddling the Harris-Fort Bend County line, immediately west of Mason Road. Neighborhoods in the district include Creekstone Subdivision, Sections 1 – 5; Cornerstone Place Subdivision, Section 1; Chesterfield Subdivision, Section 1and Cinco Ranch North Lake Village, Section 6, 7, 8 and 11.

The district, established in 1978, currently operates a water well facility and a community greenbelt, and is a participant in Cinco Regional Treatment Plant.

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Today, Proctor issued a statement responding to comments made by Frailey to InstantNewsKaty last week.

While challenging a number of Frailey’s remarks, Proctor said he was prepared to move forward with a decision, encouraging the administration to put the item on next week’s school board meeting agenda.

“I stand ready to vote on the tax office operation and the delinquent tax collection issues immediately,” Proctor said in the statement.

He also said he believed the district’s tax collection should be done by the counties.

“I have consistently stated that the counties should be doing the tax collection and Katy ISD should be providing the best education for the students of the district,” Proctor said in the statement. “Engagement in ancillary activities that can be done effectively by another governmental agency takes time and resources from KISD’s core mission, which is providing the best possible education for our students.”

Proctor’s Statement

Proctor’s statement, in its entirety, is as follows:

“I agree with Superintendent Frailey that all of the ‘chatter’ about the tax office and delinquent tax collections needs to end quickly. At the end of this statement, I will give you my proposal to solve these issues within a week or so. I first want to address some of the comments that Superintendent Frailey made in his recent statement to Instant News Katy.

“‘I support my staff.’ – He should listen to his staff. The ultimate responsibility for any recommendation brought to the Board is his. He does not necessarily support his staff on all matters that come before the Board. During the selection process for principals, he makes it very clear that the Superintendent makes the final decision, regardless of the wishes of the faculty, administrators, parents, and the selection committees.

“As the CEO of KISD, the Superintendent must make tough decisions and take responsibility for those decisions. In my opinion, that is what a board should expect from a superintendent. The district, through the actions of the boards in place prior to last year’s election of new board members, is committed to a contract that calls for the Superintendent to be compensated for at least $1.2 million over the next four years.

“‘I am sure that Dr. Proctor has his reasons for wanting to prolong the chatter about this item.’ -  Please refer to the August 24, 2011 Board Work Study agenda that can be found on the KISD web site. Please look at Item VII. 1. which states, ‘Discuss the tax office operation.’ The board had a very good discussion and at that time I asked about moving this to an action item for the August 29, 2011 agenda for the Regular Meeting of the Board.

The administration responded that it was not the right time to move the operation to the counties and that we should wait until the next tax cycle. Also, I believe it was stated that Mr. Piwonka would be paid through the 2011-2012 academic year, due to the fact that he was on a two year contract that would be honored even if the counties took over the tax office operations before June, 2012. There was an offer from Linebarger on the tax office spread sheet to take over the tax office in addition to the cost of outsourcing to the counties. As long as I have been on the Board, I don’t recall that the Board ever called for an RFP or RFQ during the 2011 year. It is my understanding, from Mr. Adams, that there had been ongoing discussions between the administration and Linebarger about an outsourcing agreement for the tax office.

“‘During January’s board meeting, the trustees voted to table the matter pending further evaluation of claims that the district and the Gibson Consulting Group took steps to inappropriately favor the Linebarger bid.” – Mr. Dibrell, in his motion to table, encouraged all members of the Board to review both proposals before the Board authorizes the Superintendent to begin negotiations with a firm. During both the Work Study Meeting and Regular Board Meeting, I pressed the issue that the RFP method for scoring the proposals had items, such as size of firm, which would naturally favor one firm.

I questioned the Gibson Group hard about the fact that they rated the reputation of both firms as equal. This was done even though the Perdue proposal listed one law suit against the firm in the last three years, which was dismissed; and the Linebarger firm listed over 30 suits filed in the last three years, with some dismissed, many settled and dismissed, and a couple still pending.

Additionally, the consultants made a $383,000 error in rating the proposals. The Gibson Group made NO recommendation to the Board other than stating that, ‘the Board could not go wrong selecting either law firm.’ If and when these proposals are ever made public, the taxpayers will understand my concerns with this process. I leave it up to the citizens of Katy to decide if I am lobbying or doing the job that I was elected to do.

“I stand ready to vote on the tax office operation and the delinquent tax collection issues immediately. I encourage the administration to list the tax office issue and the delinquent debt collection issue as separate items on the February 29^th agenda of the District Board of Trustees.

We need to put both of these issues behind us, as Mr. Frailey so aptly stated, we are about to build a budget. The budget process cannot be done effectively if the future operation of the tax office is not resolved.

I have consistently stated that the counties should be doing the tax collection and Katy ISD should be providing the best education for the students of the district. Engagement in ancillary activities that can be done effectively by another governmental agency takes time and resources from KISD’s core mission, which is providing the best possible education for our students.”

Ongoing Controversy

For the past several months, the superintendent and the board have been embroiled in an often-contentious controversy over whether the district should accept Frailey’s recommendation of the Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson firm over a competing proposal from the firm of Perdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins & Mott.

The debate has occasionally turned confrontational, with at least two school board members challenging Frailey’s recommendation, suggesting the selection and evaluation process has been skewed to unfairly favor the Linebarger firm.

In response to those accusations, Frailey last week released a lengthy statement outlining his reasons for making the recommendation. In the statement, the superintendent said his recommendation was based on the preference of district staffers who would work closely with the firm that is ultimately selected to handle the tax services.

Issue Not on Tonight’s Work Study Session Agenda

The school board is scheduled to meet in work study session tonight. The tax collection issue is not on the agenda.

Frailey is, however, expected to talk about recent news coverage that, presumably, will include coverage of the ongoing controversy. Under the agenda’s “information items,” there is an item listed as “Announcement: Superintendent’s Report to the Board on recent news articles.”

The comments are listed as the last item on the agenda.

No further information on Frailey’s planned remarks was immediately available.

The awards were presented at a luncheon sponsored by the Houston West Chamber of Commerce Feb. 10.

Community and business leaders took part in the award presentation and a keynote speech from Scott McClelland, President of H-E-B’s Houston Division.

Melissa Wilson, co-anchor of FOX26 Morning News emceed the event which included over 600 attendees.

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses at HCC received the award for working with small businesses and helping entrepreneurs continue on a pathway of success and growth. The selection of the winner in each category was based upon overall business performance and contributions to the West Houston community during the past year. Criteria taken into consideration include number of employees added, revenue increases and support of the community through donations of time and/or money.

“As executive director of HCC’s 10,000 Small Businesses, I am very proud to be a part of this extraordinary program because it is making a significant difference to each business owner and to our local economy. The team we have assembled at HCC is the best in program delivery, business advising and in helping businesses grow,” said Maya Durnovo, HCC Dean of Workforce & Executive Director, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Initiative.

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses at Houston Community College is a practical business management education program that helps develop skills needed to grow a company. Those selected to participate also receive a series of one-on-one business advising sessions from professionals to help develop a tailored plan for growth.

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is a $500 million national program designed to help small businesses in the United States create jobs and economic growth by providing entrepreneurs with a practical business education, access to capital and business support services. Program applications at Houston Community College are accepted on a rolling basis and are due on the 15th of every month at 5 p.m. The deadline is extended to the next business day if the 15th falls on a weekend or holiday.

“It is deeply rewarding to work with these outstanding business owners and the high caliber individuals delivering HCC’s Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative. Working together we are being transformed for the better and creating a positive impact on our local business community,” said Sandra Louvier, HCC Center for Entrepreneurship Director & Project Director, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses.

The church is located at 1225 West Grand Parkway South.

The classes will be held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6 – 7:30 p.m. starting Feb. 28 and continuing through June 2012. 

A GED practice book, “GED Complete Preparation: All-In-One Study Guide” published by Steck-Vaughn and approved GED test calculator – a Casio FX-260Solar calculator – are required for the class.  The GED practice book may be purchased through the Literacy Council for $20. 

All interested students must register with the Literacy Council prior to attending classes.  There will be a registration from 4:30 – 6 p.m. at the Church of the Holy Apostles prior to the beginning of class on Feb. 28.  The Literacy Council is also available to register students from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Friday. 

The actual classes are free with a $30 annual registration fee.  The annual registration fee may be waived in certain circumstances with proof of household income. 

In order to register, bring a photo identification such as a driver’s license or passport.  The Literacy Council needs proof of address, so if the address on the driver’s license is not current, please bring a utility bill. 

In addition, bring proof of household income.  An income tax return copy is preferred, but a pay stub from everyone in the household who is employed will suffice. 

Income is not a determining factor, but rather information that is used for statistical purposes. 

For more information, check the Literary Council’s website at www.ftbendliteracy.org, or call 281-240-8181.