The Garland Tea Party is conducting a questionnaire of the current members of the Garland ISD school board, to help inform the public regarding the district’s current representation on the Board.   This list of questions was compiled from our membership.  We would greatly appreciate your responding to this questionnaire as soon as conveniently possible.   Please reply to this email with your answers included.  Thank you so much for your participation.

1) In Garland, public education costs approximately $8,450 per year per student, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).  While this amount is less than some other school districts, many believe the amount is still too high and indicates ineffective /inefficient use of education tax dollars, especially given the current economic climate. What, in your opinion, is the right amount of money to spend per student and what do you propose to do to achieve that optimal number?

Castaneda Response:  There is no universal right amount of money to spend on educating a student.  The cost of educating students varies from year to year, city to city and state to state due to many factors, some of which cannot be controlled by the school district.  An example of these factors with variable costs includes the price of energy, the cost of gas, and the cost of health insurance, workers compensation claims, effects of natural disasters or accidents, and others.  The varying cost of educating children depends highly on their needs such as:  special education, gifted/talented, English language learners, etc.  Additionally, in Texas, the State Legislature often mandates salary raises which the ISDs are then obligated to give, yet this is often done without the allocation of additional funds from the state. 

2) If the taxpayers of Garland decided to spend no more than $5,000.00 per student, how would you reorganize GISD’s spending priorities to meet that target?

Castaneda Response:  This is not a good hypothetical question, since the amount of funding per student is not dependent on a tax-payer referendum.  School funding in Texas results from a very complicated system that includes multiple variables including the student composition, daily attendance, and various grants that the ISDs may receive.  A significant part of our funding comes in the form of Target Revenue from the state, which resulted from the school finance legislation that was enacted in 2007.    Garland ISD’sTarget Revenue is $4,562 per student.

3) According to the NCES, personnel statistics in the GISD are as follows:

• Full-time students:  57,510
• Number of teachers: 3785
• Number of non-teaching Staff: 3471  (includes teachers aides, librarians, counselors, administrators, etc.)
• Number of Adminstrators (district and school): 865.7
• Student to Teacher Ratio: 15.2:1
• Student to non-teaching Staff Ratio: 16.5:1
• Teacher to non-teaching Staff Ratio:  1.09:1
• Teacher to Adminstrator Ratio:  4.37:1

In your opinion what are the optimal ratios for Students, Teachers, Staff Members, and Administrators?  Please provide reasons for the numbers you have chosen.

Castaneda:  The staffing ratios for all of these categories are set by the administration.  The role of the Board of Trustees is governance, not management. 

4)  Would you support a reduction in non-teaching staff, including adminstrators, over a reduction in teaching staff if personnel reductions were required in order to cut the GISD budget?

Castaneda:  Reductions in force for are not anticipated for FY 2011-2012. 

 5) Would you support a reduction in administration salary and/or benefits over a reduction in teaching staff if personnel reductions were required due to budget constraints?

Castaneda:   The standard benefits should be consistent for all full-time employees within the district.   Salary cuts have not been discussed for FY 2011-2012.

6) What is your opinion of the Social Studies TEKS recently adopted by the State Board of Education?  Identify a recently adopted standard you are enthusiastic about, and one you have concerns about.

Castaneda:  My personal opinions about the TEKS adopted by the State Board of Education are immaterial to my work on the GISD Board of Trustees.  Once the standards were adopted they become the law of the land and must be taught by all teachers in Texas public schools. 

7) What is your opinion of the federal free and reduced-price lunch program?   Do you believe the funds are used efficiently, or is there waste and abuse in the system?   If there is waste and abuse, what would you do to improve the system?

Castaneda:  I strongly support the federal free and reduced-price lunch program.  I believe the system helps many children and believe the funds are being used efficiently and effectively. 

8) Do you support having the GISD’s check register posted online, as other districts have done?   If not, why not?  If yes, what have you done to make this happen in the time you have been on the Board?

Castaneda:   This is an interesting proposal that certainly aids in transparency.  The board has not taken up this topic of discussion. 

 9) Do you support GISD work sessions and board meetings being broadcast on local access TV, as is done with the Garland City Council meetings?   If not, why not?  If yes, what have you done to make this happen in the time you have been on the Board?

Castaneda:  I support transparency and civic involvement at all levels.  The topic of televising meetings was considered three years ago when I was first elected to the board.  It was not adopted due to cost considerations. 

10) Please inform (at a high level) the amount of stimulus money received by the GISD as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

Castaneda:  Please see separate attached document, which details how much stimulus money was received by the GISD.   [Ed. Note:  The document can be found here.]

11) Please inform (at a high level) how the stimulus money was and/or is to be spent.

Castaneda:  Please see separate attached document, which shares details about how stimulus money was spent in the ISD.   [Ed. Note:  Same document as above.]

12) Did you support the use of stimulus funds for GISD employee diversity training?   If yes, why?  If not, why not?

Castaneda:  Stimulus funds were spent according the guidelines, criteria and standards set forth by the US Government. 

13)  Do you believe the budget for the Texas Education Agency should be cut in an effort to reduce spending to balance the state budget?  If yes, why?  If not, why not?

Castaneda:  This decision will be made by our elected officials who represent us in Austin.  They have a tremendously difficult task ahead of them to abide by the Texas Constitution requirement of passing a balanced budget.  I suspect there will be few Texans that will be unaffected, either directly or indirectly, by the cuts.  I would expect all agencies will have to sacrifice in the next biennium.

14) What is your opinion of federal government involvement in K-12 education in Texas?

Castaneda:  Education is a function that is reserved to the states, so it is clear that states are thus entitled to set the standards and requirements of students and districts.   Texas has opted not to compete for the Race to the Top funding, which is well within it’s rights. 

15) What does the phrase ”drill and kill” mean to you?

Castaneda:   The phrase “drill and kill” to me means rote learning. 

16)  Do you believe that critical thinking skills are the most important concepts to teach elementary school age children?   If yes, why?  If not, why not?

Castaneda:  Critical thinking is one of the most important skills that all students, not just elementary, should master.  However, it is no more important than mastering English, mathematics, basic science, civics, writing, and communication, among others. 

17) What is your opinion of the creation v. evolution debate in terms of its inclusion in Texas education standards?

Castaneda:   This topic is the purview of the Texas Board of Education, in the setting of the TEKS, and does not affect my work as a GISD Trustee. 

18) Are America’s founding documents (from primary sources) currently studied by GISD students?

Castaneda:  Yes, I believe they are, but not at every grade level or in every class.