Statesman Article - WISD
Austin American-Statesman
Wimberley superintendent at center of controversy
Critics are 'a small group of very negative people,' Strauss says
By Molly Bloom
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, March 22, 2007
WIMBERLEY - With two failed school bond elections behind them, some Wimberley residents have focused their ire on school district superintendent Marian Strauss.
Several hundred Wimberley residents, unhappy with the management of the schools, have signed a petition seeking to remove Strauss from her post, said petition organizer Charles Peterson, 63. The signers have pledged to vote against any future bond proposals "until the current superintendent is relieved of her position . . . and the district is again set on a course that will best serve the interests of schools and the community as a whole."
Some residents have accused Wimberley schools of spending on athletics to the neglect of academics. A tribute to Wimberley High's 2005 state championship team stands outside the football stadium.
Critics point to what they call the superintendent's emphasis on athletics over academics, missteps in past bond elections and land deals, unwillingness to listen to those with different points of view, and low teacher salaries.
Petition organizers, none of whom have children in Wimberley schools, plan to present the document to the school board at their April meeting, Peterson said.
Wimberley in 2005-06 was named a "recognized" district, the second-highest level in state accountability rankings. The district had a graduation rate of 96 percent in 2005, and mean SAT scores were well above state and regional averages, according to the Texas Education Agency.
"We've got great students, great teachers and great administrators," Strauss, 52, said. "We've got so much to be proud of."
But some residents say the schools are heading downhill and blame the superintendent, who has four years left on her five-year contract. Clint Frankmann, 67, said, "There's a lot of distrust in the community."
Among the facts behind some of the criticisms:
*Texas Education Agency data show Wimberley spent more than eight times as much per student on athletics as on gifted and talented programs in the 2005-06 school year; $269 per student was spent on athletics compared with $32 on gifted programs. Statewide, schools spend an average of 1 1/2 times as much per student on athletics as on gifted and talented programs — $129 on athletics vs. $83 on gifted programs.
About 8 to 10 percent of Wimberley's 1,950 students participate in gifted and talented programs, and about 50 percent of boys and 30 percent of girls take part in in athletics, board vice president Gary Pigg said.
The gifted program figures don't reflect money spent on AP classes or dual-credit courses, Strauss said.
Districts similar to Wimberley in size, such as Liberty Hill and Llano, spend about 10 times more on athletics than gifted programs and Bandera four times as much, according to state data. Llano, with 1,889 students, spent $27 per student on gifted programs compared with $265 on athletics; in 2,049-student Liberty Hill the gifted-to-athletic spending ratio was $22 to $251.
* Monday night, the school board unanimously approved a plan to increase coaching stipends - paid in addition to the coaches' regular salaries - by $1,500 to $5,500, making Wimberley's coaches among the best paid in the region, board vice president Gary Pigg said. In February, the board unanimously agreed to increase stipends for department heads, academic coaches and some teachers by up to $2,500 for teachers with advanced degrees and a bonus of 5 percent of their salaries for department heads.
Coaches and teachers need to be fairly compensated for the many hours they work with students, Pigg said.
* Wimberley's average teacher salary is $40,545, the second-lowest in Hays County, according to state data.
Wimberley also has the largest gap between central office administrators' salaries and teachers' salaries in the county. The average Wimberley central office administrator's salary is about $56,000 more than average teacher's salary, according to the Texas Education Agency.
In districts close to Wimberley in size and that have a similar number of administrators, such as Bandera, Liberty Hill, Llano and Hutto, the gap between central-office and classroom salaries averages about $26,000, according to state data.
* About 85 percent of teachers say they are proud to work for the district, according to a January 2007 study commissioned by the school board. But about a quarter of teachers, principals and assistant principals said they were unhappy with the level of support they received from the superintendent's office and that communication between the central office and schools was ineffective. These complaints aren't new, and many predate Strauss' 1999 start in Wimberley. The state Comptroller's office collected similar criticisms during a 1998 school performance review. And while campaigning for office last year, trustee Jim Van Overschelde collected similar comments, which were hotly debated after Strauss forwarded them to two district employees and a former board member.
The district detractors, many of them retirees, are "a small group of very negative people that you are giving exactly what they want, and that is attention," Strauss said. "There's absolutely no reason for me to leave."
Some Wimberley parents say that Strauss is a strong leader who has students' best interests at heart. More than 200 parents signed a document in support of the district earlier this year, said athletic booster club president Chris Scudder. Byron Marburger, 46, who has a son in Wimberley schools, said criticisms of the district have gotten out of line. "We're certainly not a perfect district, but people like us don't see the things that they're claiming are going on."
School board members declined to comment on Strauss's $106,347 contract, which is typically renegotiated every year.
Wimberley superintendent at center of controversy
Critics are 'a small group of very negative people,' Strauss says
By Molly Bloom
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, March 22, 2007
WIMBERLEY - With two failed school bond elections behind them, some Wimberley residents have focused their ire on school district superintendent Marian Strauss.
Several hundred Wimberley residents, unhappy with the management of the schools, have signed a petition seeking to remove Strauss from her post, said petition organizer Charles Peterson, 63. The signers have pledged to vote against any future bond proposals "until the current superintendent is relieved of her position . . . and the district is again set on a course that will best serve the interests of schools and the community as a whole."
Some residents have accused Wimberley schools of spending on athletics to the neglect of academics. A tribute to Wimberley High's 2005 state championship team stands outside the football stadium.
Critics point to what they call the superintendent's emphasis on athletics over academics, missteps in past bond elections and land deals, unwillingness to listen to those with different points of view, and low teacher salaries.
Petition organizers, none of whom have children in Wimberley schools, plan to present the document to the school board at their April meeting, Peterson said.
Wimberley in 2005-06 was named a "recognized" district, the second-highest level in state accountability rankings. The district had a graduation rate of 96 percent in 2005, and mean SAT scores were well above state and regional averages, according to the Texas Education Agency.
"We've got great students, great teachers and great administrators," Strauss, 52, said. "We've got so much to be proud of."
But some residents say the schools are heading downhill and blame the superintendent, who has four years left on her five-year contract. Clint Frankmann, 67, said, "There's a lot of distrust in the community."
Among the facts behind some of the criticisms:
*Texas Education Agency data show Wimberley spent more than eight times as much per student on athletics as on gifted and talented programs in the 2005-06 school year; $269 per student was spent on athletics compared with $32 on gifted programs. Statewide, schools spend an average of 1 1/2 times as much per student on athletics as on gifted and talented programs — $129 on athletics vs. $83 on gifted programs.
About 8 to 10 percent of Wimberley's 1,950 students participate in gifted and talented programs, and about 50 percent of boys and 30 percent of girls take part in in athletics, board vice president Gary Pigg said.
The gifted program figures don't reflect money spent on AP classes or dual-credit courses, Strauss said.
Districts similar to Wimberley in size, such as Liberty Hill and Llano, spend about 10 times more on athletics than gifted programs and Bandera four times as much, according to state data. Llano, with 1,889 students, spent $27 per student on gifted programs compared with $265 on athletics; in 2,049-student Liberty Hill the gifted-to-athletic spending ratio was $22 to $251.
* Monday night, the school board unanimously approved a plan to increase coaching stipends - paid in addition to the coaches' regular salaries - by $1,500 to $5,500, making Wimberley's coaches among the best paid in the region, board vice president Gary Pigg said. In February, the board unanimously agreed to increase stipends for department heads, academic coaches and some teachers by up to $2,500 for teachers with advanced degrees and a bonus of 5 percent of their salaries for department heads.
Coaches and teachers need to be fairly compensated for the many hours they work with students, Pigg said.
* Wimberley's average teacher salary is $40,545, the second-lowest in Hays County, according to state data.
Wimberley also has the largest gap between central office administrators' salaries and teachers' salaries in the county. The average Wimberley central office administrator's salary is about $56,000 more than average teacher's salary, according to the Texas Education Agency.
In districts close to Wimberley in size and that have a similar number of administrators, such as Bandera, Liberty Hill, Llano and Hutto, the gap between central-office and classroom salaries averages about $26,000, according to state data.
* About 85 percent of teachers say they are proud to work for the district, according to a January 2007 study commissioned by the school board. But about a quarter of teachers, principals and assistant principals said they were unhappy with the level of support they received from the superintendent's office and that communication between the central office and schools was ineffective. These complaints aren't new, and many predate Strauss' 1999 start in Wimberley. The state Comptroller's office collected similar criticisms during a 1998 school performance review. And while campaigning for office last year, trustee Jim Van Overschelde collected similar comments, which were hotly debated after Strauss forwarded them to two district employees and a former board member.
The district detractors, many of them retirees, are "a small group of very negative people that you are giving exactly what they want, and that is attention," Strauss said. "There's absolutely no reason for me to leave."
Some Wimberley parents say that Strauss is a strong leader who has students' best interests at heart. More than 200 parents signed a document in support of the district earlier this year, said athletic booster club president Chris Scudder. Byron Marburger, 46, who has a son in Wimberley schools, said criticisms of the district have gotten out of line. "We're certainly not a perfect district, but people like us don't see the things that they're claiming are going on."
School board members declined to comment on Strauss's $106,347 contract, which is typically renegotiated every year.
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