Last week in one of our posts, we included a link to a letter from Paige Shoven printed in the Cross Timbers Gazette, in which she criticized the LISD board over shuttle busing costs for the Lewisville High School 9/10 campus plan. Here's what she wrote:
In 2009 when the board Ok’d the plans to open a third campus for LHS, I wish they would have asked how much it would cost to bus children up and down Valley Parkway and Summit. The answer we learned this year was almost 1 million dollars. At a cost of 1 million dollars a year, how fast could we have paid for a rebuild of LHS that would hold all the children of LHS?
At the time, I didn't have any reason to doubt the number, because I'm just generally not aware of what busing costs the district.
This past Monday, at an LISD Board Workshop that I covered, (and which Paige Shoven also attended), a presentation revealed that the cost of busing students between the campuses to be just $119,262 for 31 routes, a cost of $664.59 per day. In the video, go to 20:31 to see the discussion. Rogers said that before the Harmon campus was added, busing between Killough and LHS Main was about $500 per day.
I at first didn't pick up on the discrepancy, but then a couple of astute readers pointed me to it. It seemed like something worthy of doing a fact check.
So, I asked Shoven where she got the $1 million figure, and she pointed me to the handout for the 2011/12 Budget Meeting, which fortunately we covered and shot video for. Shoven said: "During the 2011-2012 budget workshop it was presented that the transportation cost was up $1.1 million when asked why, Dr. Burnett responded it was because of the three campuses at LHS."
Lo and behold, in my coverage, I had written this bullet point in my wrap-up of the meeting, where I listed some budget line items that had increases:
• +$1.1 million: Increase in transportation costs (fuel, new routes for new campus)
In the video, Dr. Quentin Burnett, LISD's CFO briefly points out the bullet point at first (10:17) without elaborating, but then later (13:48), there is an exchange between Board Member Jeff Knapp and Burnett:
Knapp: Dr Burnett, this increase in transportation costs, is that driven by fuel costs,or increased bussing? What's the big driver behind that?
Burnett: It's uh, driven by a little of all of those. Durham came back and basically requests that the district had made… there's some increased shuttle costs. There's some increases Special Ed, it also includes the cost of summer school, and those kinds of things and fuel costs as well... and additional routes. I think we got… there are at least 7 new routes as I understand it, going to Harmon - the Harmon Campus.
Knapp: That's what I'm wondering, if the new high school in Lewisville is driving a not a major portion of that, but some.
Burnett: Right.
So my bullet-point summary of Burnett's explanation was unclear, and could have easily been construed to mean that it was for fuel and new routes for the new campus. In reality, Burnett was saying that it was in the mix, but not a major portion. So sometimes, when you try to be brief in writing something, it's easy to cause confusion. For that I apologize and take responsibility.
But what impresses me is that even before I could write this up, I checked Facebook this morning and saw this status update from Paige Shoven's campaign page:
While many politicians will either double-down on errors or go on the personal attack of the messenger, Shoven was nothing but graceful in our communications back and forth in the past couple of days. I greatly appreciate it when candidates for public office value facts, and are willing to adjust when the truth becomes clearer.
There are still problems with that busing - mostly related to the amount of time it takes out of the instructional day - but that is not the purpose of this post, and I highly recommend watching the video of Monday night's meeting to get that discussion.
I just wanted to make sure that it was noted here that Shoven proactively reached out to correct her error. Now I need to go back to that old story and clarify my text.
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Anonymous
Posted: 2012/5/3 10:36 Updated: 2012/5/3 10:44
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
I applaud the correction. This letter was an unfortunate thinly veiled attempt by this candidate to stir to 9/10 campus issue back up and turn out angry parents to vote. This is just as bad or worse than false rumors that circulate every year about rezoning.
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Anonymous
Posted: 2012/5/3 11:30 Updated: 2012/5/3 11:31
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
I don't think Paige was attempting to thinly veil anything. From the posted information on this site, it appears there was some confusion from others as well. Only 1 paragraph of her letter references the fuel cost. The remainder of her letter questions other monies spent and decisions made by the LISD School Board.
A mistake is not worse than a false rumor. That is a lie. A mistake is what everyone makes from time to time. How they handle their mistake speaks volumes.
I admire someone who will stand up and admit they made a mistake and do so in a very timely and professional manner. Too bad more members on our past/present school boards did not follow Paige's example.
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Anonymous
Posted: 2012/5/3 11:51 Updated: 2012/5/3 12:03
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
Appreciate your points. But I don't buy the innocence argument on this one bit. That letter was an attempt to stir up negative sentiment against Shoven's opponent, Kathy Duke, plain and simple. Have your facts straight especially as it relates to dollars before trotting them out so confidently. A bit of research would have revealed the actual dollar amounts for cross transport of students to the three LHS campuses.
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Anonymous
Posted: 2012/5/3 12:06 Updated: 2012/5/3 12:09
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
You seem knowledgeable. So, what is the actual dollar amounts for cross transport of students to the 3 LHS campuses?
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Anonymous
Posted: 2012/5/3 17:52 Updated: 2012/5/3 18:05
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
Rodgers cited $660 a day...so about $120k a year...far cry from Shoven's citing...and absolutely her letter was politically motivated to slam Duke AND stir up 9-10 issues yet again....
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Anonymous
Posted: 2012/5/3 12:18 Updated: 2012/5/3 12:20
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
I went back and re-read Paige's letter. Where did she mention Kathy Duke?
Do you say this was an attempt to stir up negative sentiment against Duke because she was on the board when some of the questionable decisions were made??
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Anonymous
Posted: 2012/5/3 13:11 Updated: 2012/5/3 14:16
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
If you read the letter carefully, Duke was on the board when almost all those decisions were made, thus the inference that the point was to attack her/the board's decisions. If the data on the busing was wrong, what other "mistakes" are in that letter?
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
Last night I sat and researched the information outlined in Paige's letter. The five major issues discussed in her letter were:
#1. The 9/10th grade campus - this is a sore issue for many Lewisville residents. With emotions high and money being spent on a project, that in my opinion that was not necessary, this issue will not being going away soon. Despite the recent immature display of one of our senior LISD Board members at a recent workshop, people are going to keep asking questions and wanting answers on this issue. They will not get up and walk away like we recently saw from a board member. While she "may be done" there are many parents who are not.
#2. Fuel cost - this issue has been resolved. There was some confusion, additional research was done and a retraction/updated information was posted.
Regarding 84 Lumber and Glass Doctor bids - due to the size of the documents and all the other information discussed, I am going to paste just the information that applies to these 2 subjects.
#3. 84 Lumber According to the Denton CAD for 2007: Owner Name Pierce Hardy Ltd Partnership Doing Business As 84 Lumber Co #1932 Situs Address 900 S Mill St Lewisville, Legal Description Personal Property - Lumber Company Location: 900 S Mill St, Lewisville 2007 Certified Appraised Value - $1,153,234 Date Type Seller Buyer Deed Sale Price 3/14/2008 Special Wd Hardy Credit Co Lewisville Isd 2008-28563 $2,000,00
From the 3/10/2008 LISD Board Meeting Minutes: — Resolution for Purchase of 84 Lumber Property in the City of Lewisville, purchase price of $2,000,000. Motion carried unanimously. No further business was discussed and the meeting was adjourned at 7:50 pm. Adopted this 10th day of March 2008.
#4. Glass Doctor - I hope this paste in correctly. This is the glass bid that was presented to the LISD Board - (AG = Apple Glass, GD = Glass Doctor)
Is there a service call charge? If yes, how much? YES 50.00 - Apple Glass YES 73.00 - Glass Doctor 2 - One man hourly rate One man overtime hourly rate 35.00 52.50 - AG 73.00 88.00 - GD 3 - Two man crew hourly rate Two man crew overtime hourly rate 65.00 97.50 - AG 141.00 169.00 - GD 4 - Emergency calls (24 hours) hourly rate 75.00 - AG OT RATE + $250 EMERGENCY SERVICE FEE - GD B. Glass Products: Glass products to be used in repairs. (NET PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT) 1 - 1/4" Clear Float Glass 2.00 - AG 6.00 - GD 2 - 1/4" Tinted Glass (bronze or gray) 2.50 - AG 6.50 - GD 3 - 1/4" Clear Tempered Glass 4.25 - AG 8.00 - GD 4 - 1/4" Tinted Tempered Glass (bronze or gray) 4.50 - AG 8.50 - GD 5 - 1/4" Tempered Green Glass 4.50 - AG 8.50 - GD 6 - 1/4" Wire Glass 10.50 - AG 16.00 - GD 7 - 1/4" Clear Laminated 5.75 - AG 8.00 - GD 8 - 1" Tinted Insulated 7.50 - AG 12.00 - GD 9 - Mirror Glass 4.00 - AG 8.00 - GD 10 - TTinting Film QUOTE PER EACH JOB - AG 6.00 (MINIMUM $200) - GD 11 - Discount off manufacturer’s list price offered to LISD for items not listed above 50% - AG VARIES - GD C. Other Items: 1 - What percentage off of list price for items needed to repair the broken glass (i.e. gaskets, felts, trims, etc.)? 50% - AG 20% - GD 2 - Do you stock standard framed mirrors? YES - AG YES - GD 3. Do you build and install store fronts? NO - AG YE5. - GD
10/13/2009 We recommend that Competitive Sealed Proposal #1834-06 – Glass Repair and Glass Products be renewed for the term of November 14, 2009 through November 13, 2010 with Glass Doctor of North Texas as best value to the District. LISD uses this vendor for glass repair and glass products throughout the District. For the next 12 months, LISD anticipates spending $85,000 with this vendor regarding this Competitive Sealed Proposal. This vendor is renewing at the same pricing as the previous year. This is the fourth year of a five year contract. Jerry W. Roy, Ed. D. Alan King Craig Martin Superintendent of Schools Deputy Superintendent Executive Director of Purchasing
#5 - TRE 2010 - I am still researching this. I hope to have more information early next week.
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
Regarding the purchase of 84 Lumber's property, it's important to note that the appraisal district's appraisal is not always going to match the sales price - especially if eminent domain is involved. It could just as easily be that DentonCAD had the wrong valuation.
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Anonymous
Posted: 2012/5/4 20:29 Updated: 2012/5/4 20:54
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
No matter what the letter cites, the fact still stands that Ms. Duke was part of the board who made this decision. Must I remind you that was the reason for her past defeat along with Kim,Placke and then Fulton the following year. Side note....Would have rather kept Fulton and ousted Kyer! However, I strongly feel that EVERY board member who voted for the 3 campus ordeal need to be replaced ASAP!
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
Agrees with you 150%
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Anonymous
Posted: 2012/5/3 23:00 Updated: 2012/5/4 8:10
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
No real need to stir up the three campus controversy. Until it is rectified, it will never go away. It isn't dependent upon a candidate's statements. In my opinion, it was by far the dumbest thing LISD has ever done, and those who made that decision should be held accountable. There are many more problems with the three campuses than just the financial cost. Think about all the reasons that FMHS and MHS want their ninth grade campuses to share the same parking lot. Then remember when those same reasons were ignored by Board members when Lewisville residents asked them to reconsider their decision. We don't forget...
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Anonymous
Posted: 2012/5/4 20:20 Updated: 2012/5/4 20:53
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
Mrs. Shoven has no need to stir up "negative sentiment" as you stated against her opponent, Kathy Duke. All a person has to do is look at Ms. Duke's past voting record and her lack of individual thinking as a past board member. My question to Ms. Duke is "what are you going to do differently than what you did as a previous board member?
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Anonymous
Posted: 2012/5/3 12:03 Updated: 2012/5/3 12:06
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
Perhpas the confusion stems from the Administration's attempt to explain why transportation costs were increased over $1MM from 2010 to 2011. I clearly remember Mr. Knapp asking why the increase and the response from Burnett was the increase was mostly due to the 3 campuses for LHS. The meeting was at the Student Services building on Main Street. Is there anyone else that was in attendence at that meeting that remembers Knapp and Latham questioning this?
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
"At the time, I didn't have any reason to doubt the number, because I'm just generally not aware of what busing costs the district."
Huh? How can you not be aware of what busing costs the district given your level of involvement? As you note, you were at the 2011/12 budget meeting. In your blog post that you link to above, you identify the $1.1 million increase and in the parenthetical note that it was for "(fuel, special ed busing, summer school, new routes for new campus)" unless you edited that post today. So you had already attributed that increase to causes other than busing to the new campus.
In addition, the board packet for that meeting clearly shows that the budget for transportation was $10.5 million:
34 - Student Transportation '09-'10 '10-'11 '11-'12 Delta % of total 6200 Purchased and contracted services 9,203,417 9,379,950 10,531,716 12.28% 2.69%
To conclude from this that the 3 campus busing costs $1.1 million you'd have to believe that (a) the additional LHS busing was the ONLY change in LISD's student transportation needs and (b) that it was possible that the addition of one two-grade campus could by itself cost over $1 million while the other 63-odd campuses cost $9 million combined, or $140K to $150K per campus.
I don't think there was any attempt to deceive but I would expect informed board members and activists/journalists to recognize that an increase of this size must be attributable to more than just an additional campus - like Jeff Knapp did. And misunderstanding the transportation costs by a whole order of magnitude kinda makes your criticism of my aunt June - that she hasn't been involved long enough to know the district - ring a little hollow.
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
Quote:
Huh? How can you not be aware of what busing costs the district given your level of involvement?
Uh - big number syndrome? I seriously just never thought about it. I know that it's a cost, but I never considered how much per day, or what the reasonable cost of a bus trip is or should be. Until last night, I never did the math. Even if someone would have told me flat out, I suffer from CRSS (Can't Remember Shit Syndrome), and would have forgotten it by now.
The parenthetical was edited today, but was originally what I quoted in this article above. When I wrote it, it wasn't my intent to make it appear that the $1.1 million was all for the new campus. But I can see how it could have been read that way.
What you say about the total budget for transportation only being $10.5 million is the strongest clue that anyone should have had if they looked at the $1.1 million figure, that no way in hell was that all related to LHS Harmon. But you'd have to have both of those numbers right in front of you, and the curiosity to figure it out.
For what it's worth, neither this mistake, nor June Ehinger's mistake are really consequential, since no action could ever be taken by the board without the facts coming to light really quickly.
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Anonymous
Posted: 2012/5/3 14:48 Updated: 2012/5/3 15:54
Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
I think you may mean Paige Shoven's mistake, not June Ehinger's mistake. Paige is the one that misquoted/misunderstood or what ever the amount for busing between the new campus and LHS.
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Re: Candidate Corrects Busing Cost Figure; We Will Too
