Did you know how the LTISD tax rate compares to other school districts in Texas?

Interesting data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) about the LTISD tax rate, especially compared to the other school districts in the state.

Here is some data extracted from the TEA web site:^1,2

¹Source: TEA web site: “2007-08 Tax Rates as of January 18, 2008″

²Source: TEA web site: “2007 Accountability Ratings List”

Questions for Rocky and the rest of the ‘Team of Eight:’

1. Why does the LTISD have a tax rate that is in the top 17.1% of all Texas school districts, yet the LTISD is ‘Academically Acceptable?’
2. Doesn’t the data show that “throwing money at the problem” does not yield an “excellent” school district?
3. How can the LTISD lower the tax rate and become an “excellent” or even “recognized” school district?
4. How long will the LTISD Board of Trustees allow such second rate performance, disproportionate to our taxation, before they act?
5. Just who’s interests do the LTISD Board of Trustees represent? It doesn’t seem like the tax payers are fairly represented.
6. Do you think that there is a management issue which causes the LTISD to be repeatedly ‘academically acceptable?’ I might also note that this last year was the second consecutive year as ‘academically acceptable.’
7. Why is our tax rate so high? Considering the wealth of the district, the LTISD should be able to achieve the revenue required without imposing such a heavy burden upon those of us who pay taxes to the LTISD. It would be most appropriate if Mayo were to respond to this question, based on his experience with taxes and his avowed hatred of taxes and the like.
8. Has the ‘Team of Eight’ considered real action rather than sitting around and worrying about the punctuation and subtle nuances of the “District Improvement Plan?” I have a solution which could eliminate your burden by automatically generating mission statements and the like thus allowing the Board to concentrate on real business.
9. Why does Rocky and the Board call the LTISD a ‘high growth district’ when the LTISD has a historical growth pattern of only 250-300 new students per year? How does the ‘Team of Eight’ reconcile these numbers with those of a truly ‘high growth district’ such as the Round Rock ISD?
10. If the LTISD is to be proficient at growth, why did the LTISD ‘drop the ball’ so badly with the construction of just ONE new elementary school, Serene Hills? Doesn’t this failure cause anyone to wonder just how much of an untenable position the LTISD would find itself if it were truly a ‘high growth’ district?

Did you know that the Round Rock ISD Superintenedent wagers part of his benefits on outcome of his district’s scores? »« Did you know that the district’s lawyers researched “whether amateur ham radio operators qualified as a ‘radio station’ for purposes of House Bill 2564?”