4th Street in May 2020 looking South at the location where City Gym now sits. This is before demolition and construction started. The City's property at this location is 80 feet wide. UPDATE: Listen to audio of Irion County ISD's meeting on this page. The City of Mertzon and ICISD each are having regular meetings on Monday, July 17, 2023. For ICISD, it will be Supt. Moore's first meeting as superintendent. Below are agendas for each meeting and a few of my comments follow. My comments: When these meetings conflict, I have found the City to be quite accommodating in allowing me to drop in later and listen to their audio recording of their meeting. Audio of public meetings is public. To date, ICISD has taken a polar opposite view. Even when I have formally requested audio the response from Supt. DeSpain was that the District did not record its meetings. (A digital recording by any board member or school employee, by the way, is most certainly a public document.) A recent change in their policies requires that they not only record them, but they also should post them on their website. I favor live streaming of public meetings with archived access to prior meetings. This is 2023, after all. If a government body wants the public engaged, they will make their meetings accessible 24/7/365. Note especially this language on the ICISD agenda: Discuss/Approve budget amendments as presented. I have previously argued that "as presented" was too vague for notice to the public in a posting. Why not be more specific and tell the public something like, "Duscuss/approve budget amendments related to athletic and transportation departments," for example? As stated previously, I can find no authority for the language prohibiting an attack on character found in both agendas. Each agenda calls for an executive session under Texas Gov't Code 551.074 relating to personnel matters. Here is how that law reads: "Sec. 551.074. PERSONNEL MATTERS; CLOSED MEETING. (a) This chapter does not require a governmental body to conduct an open meeting: (1) to deliberate the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public officer or employee; or (2) to hear a complaint or charge against an officer or employee. (b) Subsection (a) does not apply if the officer or employee who is the subject of the deliberation or hearing requests a public hearing."

Road Runner on Cowboy Hill, Irion County, July 2023. This is a terrible time for ICISD to be in the hole $840,000. Read this article at the Texas Tribune about the impact of the Legislature's inaction is having on other school districts.

The north side of City Gym. This photo shows where 4th Street once went through - and still exists in a legal sense because the street was not closed properly. Also, note the two downspouts that drain directly into 4th Street. At tonight's special called ICISD Board meeting, the Board unanimously approved Dr. Jessica Parker, current Principal of ICISD Elementary, as Interim Superintendent. As previously mentioned, this appointment was necessary to cover the 21 day waiting period before Superintendent Moore takes the chair. There was little discussion around the motion to approve, and there was no executive session. Interim Superintendent Parker will serve until July 16, 2023, assuming my math is correct and Superintendent Moore starts officially on July 17.

There is a special board meeting on Friday, June 30, 2023 to hire an interim superintendent. Here is the agenda. My best guess is that this meeting is necessary because, technically, Superintendent Moore can't formally do the job until the 21 day wait has expired. An interim would be needed to do the work of a superintendent if DeSpain's resignation is already effective or would be effective the last day of this month, June 30. My understanding is that an interim would have the same authority as the permanent superintendent. Back in 2019, it was an interim superintendent, Johnny Clawson, who signed the contracts for the Phase 1 bond construction with WBK Construction. Mr. Clawson was pleasant enough, but the contract didn't have any teeth in it for delay penalties. So, an interim superintendent can really tie the hands of the permanent. This interim superintendent needs to start praying for clear skies. Here is my video of the July 1, 2020 flood. So, we do get summer floods. This video is from BEFORE City Gym was completed. Now that the gym is complete, the next one will be far worse. Here is some good info on how to purchase FEMA flood insurance for my downstream neighbors. I have this flood insurance and encourage everyone in the downstream area to purchase it ASAP. You will not be turned down, but there is a 30 day waiting period after purchase before the policy is effective.

These two downspouts on the northwest corner of City Gym go underground and connect with two other downspouts on the northeast corner. All four dump into the alley between the two gyms and immediately enter 4th Street. Runoff from the new bus parking pad in the foreground also enters 4th Street. And, when that huge fire suppression water tank requires maintenance, all of the water drained from it will also enter 4th Street. This was designed by Jeff Potter Architects and approved by former Superintendent Ray DeSpain and the school board. After about 5 and 1/2 hours in executive session, the ICISD board voted unanimously on June 26, 2023, to name Dr. Sara "Nikki" Moore as the lone finalist for Superintendent. Here is her public page on LinkedIn, and here is her current school, Coldspring-Oakhurst CISD. There is a 21 day waiting period, as required in the Government Code. I don't know anything about Dr. Moore, other than my positive initial impression while passing her in the hall in the Administration Building during each of her interviews. She is comfortable and welcoming when greeting the public. That's a good start. She's got to hit the ground running. The Summer is budget season for public schools...and the current budget outlook for next year is unpleasant, to say the least.

A 2019 topo survey of the block where the City Gym and GMPL now sit clearly shows ICISD knew where the stormwater was going to go before construction started. Just look for the elevation numbers along the topo lines. Though not yet posted on the District's website, a posting on the front door of the Administration Building announces a second round of superintendent interviews at a board special meeting on Monday, June 26, 2023, at 3:00 pm. I've posted a photo of the agenda below. Note that it provides for possible naming of the selected candidate after the interviews. So, teachers if you are concerned about your 2023-24 salary, you might want to attend this meeting and speak at the open forum before they conduct the interviews. Here is the agenda:

At sunset and within hours of DeSpain submitting his resignation letter, a Uhaul sits in front of the ICISD superintendent's residence. In the foreground is the flood damaged Fleming Avenue that DeSpain leaves to all of his successors for the life of the City Gym building. In perhaps the most anti climatic board moment ever, ICISD Superintendent Ray DeSpain submitted his resignation to the board on June 19, 2023. Without any fanfare and with only one board member publicly expressing praise for his work, the full board voted unanimously to accept his resignation. No parent appeared during public forum to either praise him or speak of the damage done, yet another indication of how far removed this board and his office are from the community. At the same time, the CFO Robert Helms submitted a report that the ICISD budget for 2023-24 will be short hundreds of thousands of dollars. Budget cuts for teacher salaries is a certainty. See this post, DeSpain Blows Budget Just as He Leaves Town, for Helms' report and analysis of the board's response. The Board also interviewed superintendent candidates during this meeting. My comments are pending.

At his last meeting and as the UHaul trucks were arriving at the ICISD superintendent's residence for him to load up and move on, Superintendent Ray DeSpain directed his CFO Robert Helms to give out the bad financial news to the board members. ICISD missed its revenue projection this year by $840,000. Why? The 313 Agreement projections were off. Listen to Helms' full audio report on YouTube here. ICISD's 313 agreements are with Santa Rita East Wind and Langford Wind Power, according to the Texas Comptroller. The Langford 313 appears to have expired in 2022. 313's are basically tax abatement plans used by the State to attract businesses to invest. You can get more information here. The revenue from the Irion County solar farms was significant enough to cause the then ICISD Brian Gray to make them a selling point back in 2019 when advertising the financial viability of the 2019 bond package. Clearly this was an error, as Helms explains that it is unreliable income. Consider the following while listening to Helms' report: Board member silence. One board member dared ask why the figures were off, and all of them appeared to accept face value Helm's blame of Moak Casey, that this was all very complex, it is "crazy" and "it is what it is" answer. Here's a governance tip for board members: when your CFO says it is too complicated for him to explain and it is what it is, well, it's time for you to start asking questions. Do not under any circumstance accept the CFO's first answer. There is undoubtedly more to this story. DeSpain's silence. Just as DeSpain did in the budget amendment for $98,000 for the athletic department (see Spend Spend Spend), he clammed up during Helms' report. Here's another governance tip: board members, grill your superintendent on the shortfall! If the CFO doesn't understand, then hold his boss, the superintendent accountable...especially if he is walking out the door! (DeSpain's UHauls were loaded and gone within 24 hours of Helm's report.) Who is having the black bean drawn for them and who is defending them. Teachers, and no one. Listen closely as Helms explains that the lion's share of budget expenses come from salaries, and the only way to get at this shortfall is through salaries. Here's yet another governance tip: board members defend your teachers, especially in public during board meetings. Not a single board member rejected Helm's position by saying something like, for example, "No we won't start with teacher salaries, we will start with the athletic department budget which has already received a $98,000 budget bonus this year and is the hands down winner of almost all of the 2019 bond funds." And, coincidentally, it is because of the athletics department that the District is spending money for non education matters like the parking lot, repaving of Juanita Street and the new pavement at the stadium entrance that the District is facing this shortfall. Without the 2019 bonds teachers would not be in this position today. And, note that the proposed step increase mentioned by Helms is more than consumed by the current high rate of inflation. Recapture payment. Over $15 million will be going to the state for financing of poor school districts. Consider this Texas Monthly article about Fort Davis ISD, another rural West Texas district not as fortunate as ICISD. Are the ICISD capital improvements any more sustainable over time than the 313 agreements? This Texas Monthly article may be foretelling the future for ICISD, especially if its board members continue to fail so miserably to defend their teachers and favor athletics instead. What other board member responses are missing during Helms report? Send me a comment and let me know what you think, and when you do check your email address and make sure it is a valid address. (I can't respond to invalid email addresses.) I'll consider posting responses here. "God speed to all of you" DeSpain said when he formally announced his resignation to the board immediately following Helms' report.

This caliche berm on the west side of City Gym stretches the distance of what is remaining of the alley between 4th and 5th streets that the City of Mertzon gave away without a fight when ICISD wanted 4th Street for the gym. The berm represents, as of June 2023, the sole flood diversion structure put in by ICISD. Ironically, the east end (pictured here) pours out into the portion in which ICISD gave the City of Mertzon a utility easement, once again literally pouring water on the City. Here is the agenda for the Monday 2:00 pm, June 19, 2023 meeting in which the Board will interview superintendent candidates. A few initial comments: This is just an interview session. The Board will not make a formal decision at this meeting. I consider ICISD's agenda items relating to TASB policy updates to always be inadequate. Reading this agenda, who knows what Policy Update 121 is even about? The policy updates should better described on the agenda AND posted online before the meeting so that interested folks can read and comment on them in open forum before they are passed. Under previous leadership President Flores would merely rubber stamp these updates as if the board didn't have a say in the matter. Local policies are especially important, particularly when they relate to, for example, how booster clubs are managed, and it is a terrible idea for a school board to blindly follow TASB. It will be interesting to see if President Carlile requires the board to read and discuss these updates before voting on them or whether she will follow Flores' lead. Note agenda item 8 on hiring and resignations. More comings and goings, but one can't tell because titles aren't posted. More soon...

ICISD is spending over $125,000 in taxpayer dollars on paving the GMPL, plus another $9,500+ in surveying and topography services. The Grand Mistake Parking Lot ("GMPL") suffered yet another setback on May 19, 2023 during its construction. Within days of the May 12, 2023 flood and only a day or so after pouring the concrete and removing the forms, another flood occurred before the construction on the lot was complete. Approximately 1 and 1/2 inches of rain fell in just over an hour on May 19, 2023 and washed away most of the caliche base before any blacktop could be put down. The photos below, taken on May 21, 2023, show why this parking lot has earned its name as a Grand Mistake. The project also stands out as putting the 2019 bond package in the red. Note the two holes, apparently for draining water, in the cement at the corner. In the foreground is the City of Mertzon's right of way/shoulder for 5th Street showing caliche base from the higher portion of the GMPL and evidence of erosion already showing. The "inside" of the GMPL looking northwest shows the waterline from the flood and the missing caliche base. What's left here is going to have to be removed, new base brought in and repacked, if the project is going to be saved. The better option is to stop now and implement the green parking that I recommended to the District and its lawyers. The inside northwest corner of the GMPL showing the flood water line above the two holes. Apparently the approximately 1 and 1/2 inches of rain was more than the two drain holes could manage and the floodwaters went above them. My yardstick shows the level just above 26 inches. That's more than enough water for a child to drown in. Here's the measurement on the exterior of the wall. Note the erosion already showing in the foreground. The cement is already failing from the force of the storm waters. Given the timing, it is probable the concrete was not given enough time to cure before the forms were removed and the second storm arrived on May 19, 2023. This shows the caliche base from the GMPL in the street at 5th and Juanita. Neither the City or ICISD own a street sweeper, so this debris will remain in the roadway until traffic in the area forms a path or until the next rain. The darker pavement on the left is the new paving that ICISD paid for on the west end of Juanita street. Taxpayers are getting hit twice here. My 2+ years of failed efforts to get Mayor Taylor's city council to implement regulations that prohibit new construction from dumping storm water into our streets results in disastrous construction like the GMPL, and folks like ICISD Supt. DeSpain and the school board try to pass the buck. Of course, what is especially transparent is that ICISD is flooding itself, giving taxpayers a double whammy, while expecting no one will speak up and state the obvious. This parking lot is a Grand Mistake if there ever was one. This is caliche base storm water blocking entry to my property on Fleming washed down from the GMPL two days after the May 19, 2023 flood. Debris from the GMPL caliche base is easy to see up close. I regularly see young drivers, not realizing the potholes beneath the water, speed up through the water for the splash fun. ICISD saddles city taxpayers with water logged streets, while ICISD looks away and ignores the costs and safety issues it has created. And, of course, it is this very water, combined with runoff from City Gym, that ends up flooding the football stadium. So, the GMPL serves as yet another lesson on government flooding itself. Yes, our government will flood itself, not learn anything, and then do it again. This is a terrible waste of taxpayer dollars, and it is creating extraordinary safety hazards that never existed before.

The GMPL gets its stripes, but no one parks there. Here is the meeting agenda. Why should you attend board meetings where the only issue appears to be the hiring a new superintendent? Here's why: the job carries with it the authority to permanently impact our community. Back in 2019 with less than a year on the job, the ICISD board trusted Superintendent Brian Gray to put together an $18 million bond. He brought to the table Jeff Potter, the same architect that built the gym at Gray's previous district, Union Grove ISD. Then, an interim superintendent served when Gray left a few months after the 2019 bond election (before the end of his contract term), and the interim signed all the relevant construction contracts...and then he left. Then DeSpain was hired in December 2019, spent more than the bond amount of $18 million, and now he is leaving...also before the end of his contract term. Potter has already left after collecting close to $1 million in fees, and the Potter/DeSpain legacy might best be described as our city streets as now permanent aqueducts for the new gym's stormwater runoff. Folks keep leaving, seemingly without any accountability. All total, since 2016 when I asked the District to address stormwater runoff from the campus, there have been four (4) superintendents, none of whom expressed the least bit of concern that the District was responsible for flooding our community. The folks that take these superintendent jobs are extraordinarily impactful. We should all take note, even if you have no children attending the school. The vast majority of this meeting will be in private during the executive session, which in itself is a reason for being present. Our government leaders should not be left unattended to during executive sessions. How long will this next one stay?

Washed out Tack Coat at the GMPL after the rain. When I saw ICISD's contractor picking up where they left off after it rained without reapplying any new tack coat, I began to wonder. Request: ChatGPT, please write a 250 word essay on what could go wrong if the Tack Coat washes away when applying hot asphalt to caliche. Response: Title: The Consequences of Tack Coat Washout during Hot Asphalt Application on Caliche Introduction (approx. 40 words): Tack coat, a crucial adhesive layer, plays a vital role in promoting the bond between hot asphalt and the underlying caliche substrate. However, when the tack coat washes away during the application process, several detrimental consequences can arise. This essay explores the potential issues that can occur when the tack coat is not effectively applied or is washed away during hot asphalt paving on caliche. 1. Lack of Adhesion (approx. 70 words): The primary purpose of the tack coat is to ensure strong adhesion between the hot asphalt and caliche surface. If the tack coat washes away, the bond between the two materials is compromised. As a result, the asphalt layer may fail to adhere properly to the caliche, leading to separation and delamination. This lack of adhesion weakens the overall integrity of the pavement, making it susceptible to cracking, rutting, and premature deterioration. 2. Reduced Stability and Durability (approx. 80 words): When the tack coat is not adequately applied or washes away, the stability and durability of the asphalt layer on caliche are significantly diminished. The absence of proper adhesion can result in a loose and unstable surface, prone to shifting and deformation under traffic loads. This can lead to the formation of potholes, raveling, and the infiltration of moisture, further accelerating deterioration. The weakened pavement structure not only compromises safety but also necessitates costly and frequent repairs, reducing the overall lifespan of the road. 3. Safety Hazards (approx. 70 words): The failure of the tack coat to adhere to the caliche can create safety hazards for road users. A weakened pavement structure increases the risk of skidding, loss of vehicle control, and accidents. Uneven surfaces and dislodged asphalt patches pose additional dangers, especially in wet weather conditions. The absence of a reliable tack coat compromises the overall safety and smoothness of the road, affecting the driving experience and potentially leading to increased accidents and injuries. Conclusion (approx. 40 words): Effective application and preservation of the tack coat are critical for successful hot asphalt paving on caliche. When the tack coat washes away, it results in poor adhesion, reduced stability and durability, and safety hazards. Proper tack coat application is essential to ensure a long-lasting, safe, and reliable road surface on caliche. Below is the scene once they continued laying the hot asphalt on the washed out tack coat. The absence of the tack coat can be verified by the presence of the caliche top. And below is the bid for the project to be paid by the taxpayers. Coincidentally, this bid was never voted upon by the ICISD board in open session. This is a huge waste of taxpayer money! And it isn't going to be a one time cost either. There are going to be maintenance expenses with this parking lot. Those expenses are what earns it the title of Grand Mistake. There's no money in the ICISD budget currently set aside for parking lot maintenance. The answer: depave the GMPL and replace it with a green space. It is that simple. Watch for more updates on the GMPL.