IC ISD Board Meeting October 8, 2025
- G. Noelke
- Oct 6
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 9
Agenda Analysis | Meeting Review | Meeting Documents | Commentary | Last Meeting
A. Agenda Analysis
Financial Audit, item 9: Supt. Moore and Kandra Lakey, Business Manager, appear at the meetings, anyway, to be running an efficient shop. But, audits are done by auditors, and they are the ones paid to find errors. And, the previous administration and CFO were rated as superior in financial reporting by TEA, but nonetheless overspent the 2019 bond funds. The District functions with a $20+ million budget, and the 2024 bonds bumps that up to a $70+ million budget. Audits matter.
Eichelbaum legal services contract, item 8: Always listen for whether the lawyers are asking for a raise. Here is their website.
TIA initiative, item 10: TIA is the teacher incentive allotment. This item and item 11 on moving to a one campus system are about targeting untapped money.
2024 bonds, pending construction projects, item 12: I'm watching, and I suspect the County downstream is as well, for what drainage plans will be approved. Based on my ongoing PIA requests for the plans, I don't think the District has final plans yet. As a reminder to Gallagher and Parkhill to get the lead out, here is a photo of my front yard last November. Their growing piles of caliche and cement in the photo at the top of the page are uphill and only about a hundred yards from my front door. It’s like a chin flick from them each time it rains.
B. Meeting Review
Financial Audit, item 9. The District took in less revenue, but their losses for the year were roughly a $500,000 less than the $1 million budgeted. That is their revenue was down about $3 million, but the impact to the fund balance was limited to $500,000. I think most districts are operating in the red these days, and that can be more easily justified here because the Legislature and TEA intend it to be that way. If I heard correctly, the 25-26 budget has $8 million in recapture dollars going back to the State. A deficit budget doesn't necessarily, then, reflect mismanagement on the part of Administration or the Board. The audit report to the Board was very good, but I didn't have the audit document in front of me at the time of the meeting. I'll circle back and ask for that. I hesitate to accept the auditor's statements at this meeting without review.
Administrative report, item 5: a. Bonds/Construction - The early, very early, report is that elementary construction will come in under budget. But, the current status is that demolition is complete, but the foundation and excavation haven't started. This economy is bizarre, though, so there is still every reason to be concerned. Also, the pressure is on Gallagher to keep everything within budget. Apparently the subs on the new transportation facility tried and failed to get more money for rock excavation. Again, the ghost of gymnasiums past need to haunt the Board for spending $500,000+ for rock excavation for City Gym back in 2021. The pending construction project matter at item 11 was on a tile bid for the new cafeteria. The best source for ongoing bond construction is "Moore's Monday Minutes" done by Supt. Moore at the District's YouTube channel. b. Enrollment: District enrollment is 311; attendance wasn't stated.
Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA), item 10: The community, particularly parents, need to get behind this. Here's a website and a video. This is one of Supt. Moore's initiatives, and there needs to be community buy in to support both student and teacher improvement. The community needs to come up to speed and come to expect teachers to be distinguished educators under this program. Excellence in education is brought about, in part, by community expectation. As reported by Supt. Moore and Principal Parker at this meeting, there is an extensive year long application process that is underway. Currently only one teacher at IC ISD holds a distinction, and that is because he came here with it from another district.
Legal expenses, item 8: The Board approved an increase of $1,500 for the retainer fee to the Eichelbaum firm. That should still keep the District under $2,000 a month for regular retainer fees. "Overages" can be expensive, though, as back in August the District's legal bill was $8,000. If I understood Supt. Moore at this meeting, these extra expenses were from bond related negotiations. I'll explore this more in my next open records request. Why pay attention? Lawyers have to be accurate, and there are bond and construction specialties in law. We are paying for the best. When you get burned by legal advice to a District - in my case an unlawful street closure that has resulted in the regular flooding of my property - you want to remind folks that your tax dollars also go to pay lawyers. The use of private lawyers by government is always a dicey matter. Here's the latest episode at the Texas Attorney General's Office. It's never ending. (At one time I helped manage the outside counsel contracts at the AG's office for General Cornyn.)
C. Commentary
I grew up working around Mexican immigrant cowboys at the ranch, some illegal, some who used ranch work to become naturalized and support their families. I can follow the legal reasoning, today, of the best of lawyers that it is illegal for the Texas National Guard to be federalized and used across state borders at places like Portland and Chicago to assist ICE in the deportation of immigrants. What I can't understand is the blatant racism of it all. Texas uses its Operation Lone Star program to relocate immigrants entering from Mexico to places like Chicago, presumably to highlight that the city is a sanctuary city. It's a terrible program. Now the State of Texas is agreeing to the federalization of its National Guard for use in Chicago to assist ICE in the deportation of immigrants out of the country, sometimes, yes, even to countries where they did not come from?! It’s racism, and a video like this by Secretary Noem about the ICE raid in Chicago on October 4 is transparent racist propaganda.
Call it out, call it out for what it is.
Racist. Propaganda.
I know that this is all a far cry from my agenda analysis and meeting review above, but even in this far outpost of rural Texas I was raised not to accept this kind of blatant racism. This is 2025. We ought to be better than this.
Copyright 2025 G. Noelke
