Editor:

Because I have personally witnessed the dedication to students and the professionalism of our BISD faculty, staff and administration, I have no doubt that they are prepared to respect the wishes of the voters and move forward. I am saddened that the voters rejected the tax increase but understand that it is likely more the economy than the lack of trust in our educational system. I think it is wrong to give the Chamber of Commerce too much credit for the defeat as they did support the increase for Pettus ISD and that election also failed despite their endorsement.

Still, I do understand and empathize with the feelings of frustration expressed by many of our educators towards the Chamber’s position as I share them. I equally understand that BISD employees are not upset over the loss of a well deserved raise but rather are upset that their integrity and abilities are questioned by the uninformed position taken by the board of directors of our Chamber of Commerce.

However, after hearing from several Chamber members including BISD, I realized many of them were both unaware and surprised that their board of directors even took a position on the issue. This is truly unheard of for Chambers. Members were even more surprised and truly upset over the position taken which was seen as divisive and counterproductive for economic growth. It seems the decision was made by a small part of the membership and that no one thought it wise to ask for information from the ISDs before taking a position. Because I believe the view was not representative of the membership, I encourage our community to instead of boycotting businesses to overwhelmingly support them as those businesses have supported our schools and students. But I equally encourage you to have them question their organization’s lack of process and their lack of foresight in regard to the ramifications of taking such a position so publicly, and unexpectedly.

The Chamber board should have informed their membership of their plan to take positions, they should have sought information from the ISDs before taking such positions and they should have sought ways to work with the districts in more productive ways. I sincerely believe that if they had sought information they would have arrived at a different conclusion, but if not, at the very least, they would not have blindsided the district, its employees and its students.

BISD, like most districts, has many areas in which we excel and some areas that need improvement. As many who have attended board meetings are aware, we often have lively discussions over the issues, and measures are taken to address those that need improvement. We have channeled more of our limited budget to our high school and middle school where the need was most obvious. Indeed, this was done in a very collaborative spirit by all of the schools in the district revealing how well they work for the benefit of every child.

Although money cannot solve all problems, funding is directly tied to student success as Dr. Hardwick has explained in previous articles. His state data makes the connection that the more money a district spends per child the more significant increases in learner performance. BISD was already in the lowest 10% in the state of funding per child before the defeat of the tax increase. His argument that the state needs to change its funding system was experiencing a groundswell of statewide support. If successful, this would have meant more money for Beeville students. This support has slowed since the Chamber’s position made state news. As per the Chamber’s comment that they want to support the schools, I suggest they review Dr. Hardwick’s data and encourage them to join BISD in petitioning our legislators for changes in the state’s funding formulas.

In closing, I want to stress that I know how hard our employees work. As a trustee and as a parent, I also know how successful they are despite budget shortcomings in doing one of the community’s most important jobs — educating our young people. I have sat frustrated in meeting after meeting when we have been unable to fund their innovative and progressive ideas to help students learn. Still they always move forward to address the challenges. These challenges have now been compounded. We will need their cooperation and the community’s understanding as once again we ask them to do more with even less and as we ask administrators to look at budgets to find ways to cut $350,000 in programs and students services.

Velma C. Elizalde