Hello, 2024-2025! We did it; we’ve kicked off the school year in a GIANT way! I want to extend my appreciation to our dedicated teachers and staff at Goose Creek CISD. Your hard work and commitment have, once again, ensured a smooth and successful start to a promising new school year.
This year, we are focused on providing the very best educational opportunities for our families, while also confronting a major concern that affects every district in Texas. A pending lawsuit regarding the release of accountability scores has cast a shadow of doubt over many districts across Texas, including ours. These scores, which are intended to reflect the quality of education we provide, have been deemed unfair and inequitable, as the way the test is scored has once again been altered, this time using Artificial Intelligence. Numerous people have been closely monitoring the situation and are prepared to advocate for fairness and accuracy. Research has long since proven that letter grades assigned to a campus and or district may not be reflective of the hard work or quality of instruction provided by our teachers, as much as it aligns with a neighborhood’s socioeconomic status. Our motto of “developing the whole child” is a way of life that we have fully embraced. The broad array of course selections are student driven through our parent meetings and student surveys. We also invite local businesses to sit on steering committees which provides the lens of future needs for our community.
In addition to this challenge, we are still dealing with the ongoing issue of state funding for public education. Despite the inflationary pressures that have driven costs up some 20% across the nation, our state's basic allotment per pupil funding remains the same at $6,160 per child, a number that has not changed since 2019. The cost of educating our students has risen significantly, especially in the aftermath of COVID-19, and resulted in a shortfall of the state’s constitutional obligation to educate its citizenry, as it was designed to do.
The 88th legislative update on school funding claims to have funded each student at the rate of nearly $15,000 per pupil. There has been a politician or two who’ve used this report to claim Texas has increased funding. However, these inflated projections have clearly included federal monies – such as temporary ESSER funds, federal free lunch funds, prison system funds and the like, which have nothing to do with teacher pay, classroom instruction, program support or state funding. Most legislative mandates are either unfunded or grossly underfunded. This shortfall places an additional burden on our district, making it even more challenging to provide the quality education our students need and deserve. Speaking on behalf of our district, I can share that we have tightened our belts and streamlined all of our systems in place, while being mindful of the essential needs of our community throughout the process.
One way that our families and teachers can help with our tightened budget would be through increased attendance. Fewer absences for teachers would not only improve instructional delivery but also reduce the need for substitute teachers, a costly venture. Improved student attendance would increase state funding, as our state is one of only eight in the nation that still does not fund schools by student enrollment, but rather only if the student is present. It is one way the state is able to keep about 5% +/- of funding from all schools in Texas, although we do not send teachers home, or turn off the electricity when students do not attend school. Our budget costs are built around a quality education for all students.
To further clarify, my concerns with vouchers are not based upon competition, but rather academic accountability and financial responsibility. One must take a look at the lack of oversight in place for private, charter and voucher schools. According to their website, “TEA does not have oversight of private schools or vocational schools in Texas. The Texas Private School Accreditation Commission (TEPSAC) and the International Association for Learner Driven Schools (IALDS) provide information for private schools.” (TEA, 2024) After taking a closer look into TEPSAC, I found that private schools are not required to provide information or transparency regarding registration, licensing, or approval of any kind. Accreditation is optional in Texas (TEPSAC, 2024). Perhaps if alternative schools of choice were required to follow the same rigid requirements as public schools, it would be a fair and balanced consideration to provide them the same tax dollars our public education funds were purposed for. Or perhaps, to flip that script, we could reduce the intense scrutiny of our public schools through eliminating the use of the almost $100 million annual cost of the STAAR exam and all the irregularities associated with using it as the end all, be all, measuring stick for public schools over the last decade!
Despite all these challenges, I remain optimistic. Our incredible students and amazing teachers and families who we are blessed to work with, here in Goose Creek America, provide us our purpose! I am always available to meet with any of our citizens, including elected officials, to discuss ways that we may work together to best serve our respective communities in this great state. Here's to another successful school year, filled with learning, growth and accomplishment. Together, we will navigate these difficult times and continue to do our best to grow our Giants into successful, responsible citizens!
Dr. Randal O’Brien
Superintendent of Schools