PEYTON WOLCOTT - NATION'S 1st DAILY CONSERVATIVE PUBLIC ED COMMENTARY

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P E Y T O N W O L C O T T

Conservative Commentary - Texas public school superintendent Dana Marable

How we take back our children's education:
one person, one question, one school at a time.

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Britain's King
George III once
ruled our country;
despotism by
those with power
does not last.
Public school
superintendents
would do well to
remember this
lesson from
history.

HOME

more and more time at our daughter's
school.

When you spend a lot of time at your
kid's school, you notice things, including
apparent discrepancies of all sorts
such as the district saying one thing
and acting another.

As PTO officers people brought us their
questions about our primary fund raiser,
the sale of personalized bricks for a
walkway. Our attempts to obtain
detailed financials from our bricks chair
and then from the high school principal
and then the district's superintendent
were thwarted and we never received
them despite the questions from the
community. This was at first awkward
then perplexing; why the secrecy?

Folks also came to me asking about
programs the same superintendent
was purchasing, and the conditions
under which they were purchased.
Also, this being a small town, there
were many questions about the
superintendent's frequent absences to
attend conferences.

There were other things going on.

A beautiful elementary secretary with
cute kids and a handsome husband
who was assistant principal at the high
school wound up going to jail over
some missing book fair money; many of
us wondered why there weren't stronger
internal controls as in business as
such controls would have protected this
nice family which must now live with this
in their history. (This by the way was the
single event which drove home to me
the importance of strong internal
controls including over all aspects of
cash handling in our public schools. At
all fund raisers I was privileged to be
part of I insisted that we have two
people count the money, then sign the
sealed cash envelope together over the
back flap, and deposit it immediately.
This is still a practice I recommend as it
protects everyone.)

CNN came to town to investigate
fourth-grade boys having oral sex -- in
the classroom with the teacher present
-- and there was some confusion over
whether this had been reported properly
or not by the superintendent.

There were questions about the real
dropout number at our local high
school, plus discipline issues, plus
rumors from trusted local sources
about drug usage; students going to
school in the morning looked like they
were coming home from a rock concert.
As a fan of LA Unified teacher Rafe
Esquith and his Hobart Shakespeare-
ans -- a great example of better
teaching is needed rather than more
money which shows us that kids thrive
in a classical environment in which
vendors' drecky curriculums take a
distant back seat -- I was disappointed
at the high school's low expectations for
students.

It was in this environment and time that I
filed my first public information act
request, simply to learn some facts for
myself about the goofy-to-us-parents
programs (we knew for example that
little kids don't learn about honesty by
putting the word up on a billboard).
Imagine my surprise when the superin-
tendent tried to charge me $426. As
one friend put it, "What are they trying to
hide?"

Eventually I spent a year lobbying the
superintendent, the then-administration,
then-board and then-state comptroller to
bring the Texas School Performance
Review Audit to the district, Marble Falls
ISD; Comptroller Carole Strayhorn
announced that she was bring it to town
on December 10, 2002, and you can
read the findings here, including the
need at that time for stronger internal
controls in the district.

That superintendent was Dana Marable,
and I am very grateful to her for teaching
me so much, including the need for
transparency of all sorts at all levels and
the importance of direct and honest
communication.

Marble Falls ISD's leadership is now
committed to transparency; gone are
the days of private board trainings Dana
facilitated at remote ranches, notices for
which were posted only on the front
door of the administration building
rather than the district's website. Such
is MFISD's new commitment to
transparency that the district was one of
the first 30 districts in Texas to
voluntarily post its check register online.

What follows are my ongoing attempts
to learn more from Dana about why she
did what she did.

LBJ used to say, "Come, let us reason
together." It is my hope that by our
reasoning together we will be able to
make sure that our public schools
remain strong, free and locally governed.

More here regarding the groups I
helped organize at that time.

Here's the Austin-American Statesman
article about the little boys:

Why there's an entire page on
one Texas public school supe
By Peyton Wolcott
January 21, 2009

Many years ago when we returned to
Texas it was my intent to garden and to
finally be able to spend time on my poetry
and volunteer at my daughter's school,
something I'd not been able to do much
of previously.

My backyard in fall with
Bradford flowering pears and
not a lick of homemade mulch.

Maybe if my husband hadn't thought
making homemade mulch too messy
things would have turned out differently.
He also liked to garden, and between

LONE FINALIST
DANA MARABLE
PASSED OVER
FOR DEL RIO
INTERIM
Hiring of interim
super postponed
By Jennifer Killin
Del Rio News-Herald
Published June 27, 2008

The public school
board did not hire an
interim
superintendent
Thursday night.

After opening the San
Felipe Del Rio
Consolidated
Independent School
District Board of
Trustees meeting,
president Raymond
Meza took the panel
behind closed doors
for more than three
hours.

“Because the
superintendent
search has been
delayed, I feel it is in
the best interest of the
district to hire a
superintendent,” said
Meza immediately
before the board
entered closed
session.

Dr. Dana Marable,
who holds a doctorate
in curriculum and
instruction from Texas
A&M, was the sole
candidate interviewed.

Since 1993 Marable
has held superinten-
dent posts with the
Longview, Marble
Falls and Medina
Valley school districts,
according to her
resume.

She is also listed as
the interim superinten-
dent with the Temple
Independent School
District.

When the board
returned at 10:15 p.m.,
vice president Stanley
Blackstone
announced the panel
would revisit the issue
when all board
members are present.

“I want to make it
perfectly clear we do
not procrastinate; we
are methodical,” said
Blackstone.

Three board
members were
absent – Dr. Fernando
Quiz was teaching at
Sul Ross State
University in Eagle
Pass, Sandie Bostick
is out of the country on
a job assignment and
a message left for Joe
David Zuniga on his
cell phone was not
returned by press time.

Blackstone said the
board decided to wait
on a decision until
everyone is present
and given a chance to
vote.

He said the board
might also look at
other candidates for
the interim position.

Thursday’s meeting
came on the heels of
an announcement
from assistant
superintendent of
instruction Julio
Ramos that he would
be retiring at the end
of July.

Though rumors
circulated that Ramos
was contemplating
retirement, he did not
officially notify the
district until this week.

Roberto “Bobby”
Fernandez announced
earlier this year his
plans to retire by the
end of December, but
has said he would
leave sooner if a
replacement was
found.

Either way, his
contract will be paid
through December.

Fernandez was also
on Thursday’s agenda
as a possible
consultant to the
interim, but no action
was taken on that
motion.

A board meeting is
tentatively set for July
9 to interview other
interim candidates.

www.delrionewsherald.
com/story.lasso?
ewcd=0d037c2dbca17282

Fourth-Graders Reprimanded
for Lewd Acts (Boys accused
of performing oral sex on each
other)
Austin American-Statesman
Tuesday, March 26, 2002
By Janet Jacobs and Jonathan Osborne

MARBLE FALLS -- Police are
investigating allegations that five
fourth-grade boys performed oral sex on
one another during class at least twice
at Marble Falls Elementary School.

School officials confirm that the
incidents took place and that they are
treating the acts as lewd behavior. The
boys were suspended for a day, have
been put in alternative classes for 10
days and will receive counseling, said
Superintendent Dana Marable.

"It was a dare," Marable said.

However, at least one mother, who
asked not to be identified to protect her
son's identity, said the acts were done
under threat.

"My boy didn't want to, and the other
boys threatened him if he didn't," she
said.

In interviews with police, the boys -- all
ages 9 and 10 -- admitted the acts took
place last fall and again in February,
said Marble Falls police Capt. Robert
Sooter.

Marable said the acts took place during
a free reading time, when everyone in
the classroom, including the teacher, is
supposed to be reading. The boys had
retreated to beanbag chairs in the back
of the classroom and were using their
coats to hide from the teacher, the
parent said.

"The little boys didn't do it in front of the
teacher," Marable said. "They hid."

A child in the class told the teacher
about the sex acts March 7, two days
before spring break. The boys were
suspended March 8. When they
returned from spring break March 18,
they were placed in alternative
education.

Police said they learned about the
incident March 18. School officials said
they notified authorities March 8, in
compliance with a Texas law requiring
that abuse incidents be reported within
48 hours.

"All authorities have been notified in
accordance with the letter of the law,"
said Marble Falls Elementary Principal
Steve Shroft.

Police are concerned about three
things: whether any of the boys used
coercion and might be charged with a
crime; whether the teacher or school
officials were negligent or were slow to
report the incidents; and whether the
boys were re-enacting behavior they
had learned elsewhere.

"Obviously, this is some kind of learned
behavior, and it's our job to learn where
it came from," Sooter said.

Amanda Van Hoozer, director of
program services for the Children's
Advocacy Center in Austin, said it's
possible that one boy is more sexually
advanced than the others and is
sharing this knowledge. But, she said, a
history of sex abuse is a more likely
explanation.

"Some kids are really precocious," Van
Hoozer said. "They know a lot more than
other kids. They've seen it in a
magazine, and they've decided to try it
out for themselves. But if these kids are
just normal, average 10-year-olds, most
10-year-olds have not been exposed to
this. If they are sexually acting out . . .
you certainly want to look at what's
going on because it is indicative of
abuse."

Van Hoozer said another child in the
same circle of friends might have taught
the acts to the boys.

"I think it's definitely a red flag that a
child somewhere within this network of
kids has been abused," she said. "But
again, you have to stress that it may not
be any of these kids."

Officials with the Texas Department of
Protective and Regulatory Services,
which investigates allegations of child
abuse, said they are aware of the
situation but have not opened an
investigation.

"At this point, it doesn't appear to have
been any neglect or abuse by the
caregiver, because it was child on
child," said Marla Sheely,
spokeswoman for the agency. "We're
still following it. We're still looking over
the whole issue of supervision."

The teacher, who was not identified by
school officials, is still teaching the
class, and there have been no changes
of policy, Marable said.

"I'm sure that particular teacher has
changed her policy," she said.

2002-2006 Timeline
On Dec. 10, 2002 then-
Texas Comptroller Carole
Strayhorn announced she
was bringing the TSPR
audit to Marble Falls ISD;
within 10 business days
then-MFISD superinten-
dent Dana Marable had
announced her resigna-
tion as had assistant
supe Cynthia Clinesmith;
the following spring the
three-longest serving
trustees (Dale Bergman-
15 yrs, Linda Ross-11 yrs,
and Don Sherman-6 yrs)
did not seek reelection. A
year or so later our then-
business manager
retired then went to work
for Dana at her next post,
Longview ISD.

Then-Longview ISD supe Dana Marable "speaks
about the recent fights at Longview High School with
parents and concerned community members" on
Feb. 9, 2006. (PHOTO/Luisa Morenilla/News-Journal)

September 25, 2006
Re-Sent November 11, 2007
Dana Marable, Longview ISD

Dana, in the course of my work I receive a
great number of reports; some are easily
verified and others are not. In the event I
have stated any of the following incorrectly,
please let me know what is factually
incorrect and supply factual support for your
assertions so that I may correct the
commentary I am preparing which will
incorporate some or all of the following.

Departure from
Longview ISD Resignation Letter
(Texas Public Information Act)
Dana, please send me a copy of your
resignation letter submitted to the
Longview ISD board of trustees. Because
this information is for sharing with the
public on my website and for publication in
my book, I expect all public records fees to
be waived; you could PDF this document
via email.
Receipt/Response as of 01.21.09:
None.

Contract Buyout Document
(Texas Public Information Act)
Also, please send me a copy of any
document signed reflecting the amount of
all monies you are being paid to leave
Longview ISD; this amount is commonly
referred to as a "contract buyout." Again,
because this information is for sharing with
the public on my website and for
publication in my book, I expect all public
records fees to be waived; you could most
cheaply PDF this document via email.
Receipt/Response as of 01.21.09:
None.

Contract Buyouts - Three School Districts
As I understand it Marble Falls ISD trustees
had to buy out your MFISD contract and now
Longview's trustees are having to buy out
your LISD contract there; is this truth or
rumor? Further, it is my understanding that
such a buyout also occurred at Medina
Valley ISD prior to your employment in
Marble Falls. Is this truth or rumor? If not
true, which part or parts is/are not true? If
the foregoing is true, as has been reported
to me, to have had your employment
contracts bought out at three school
districts in a row is unfortunate for all
concerned, most especially the school
children, their parents and taxpayers.
Based on property records including you on
the other hand appear to have bought
ranches with your buyouts; these are the
reports I have received from individuals in
each of these school districts. Would you
please comment on the foregoing, what
some have called an unfortunate string of
events. Also, would you please comment
on the apparent situation with your buying
and selling of ranches as you move across
the state. Speaking of which, how
appropriate do you feel now, from the
perspective of years and history, it was for
you to host board retreats at your ranch for
Marble Falls ISD trustees? Have you since
continued this practice?
Receipt/Response as of 01.21.09:
None.

TSPR Audit Findings - MFISD
Dana, would you please comment on the
fact that the April 2004 Texas School
Performance Review Audit of Marble Falls
ISD found the following, which occurred
during your tenure as MFISD
superintendent: "MFISD has weaknesses
in its internal controls for cash
management and other financial areas."
"Student graduation rates are below state
and regional levels." "MFISD does not
effectively develop, manage or monitor
contracts." Also, could you please give
some insight from the perspective of time
passed why you resisted the TSPR audit?
And why you resigned from your
employment at MFISD within ten (10)
business days of Comptroller Strayhorn's
announcement that she was bringing the
TSPR audit to MFISD? That both you and
your assistant superintendent announced
your resignations within ten business days
of the Comptroller's announcement was
very interesting and any insights you might
have are most welcome.
Response as of 01.21.09: None.

MF Elementary School
Incident (March 2002)
Dana, would you please comment on your
reporting of the following events as
reported by the Austin American-Statesman
on March 26, 2002: "A child in the class told
the teacher about the sex acts March 7, two
days before spring break. The boys were
suspended March 8. When they returned
from spring break March 18, they were
placed in alternative education. Police said
they learned about the incident March 18.
School officials said they notified
authorities March 8, in compliance with a
Texas law requiring that abuse incidents
be reported within 48 hours." As I
understand it, the proper authorities were
told of the incident not within 48 hours but
11 days later. To what do you ascribe this
confusion regarding how this event was
reported? Further, it is my understanding
that while "school officials" asserted the
incident had been reported properly on
March 8, within 48 hours, there is no
substantiation available to back up such an
assertion. Do you have any substantiation
at this time to back up the assertion that the
incident was reported to authorities on
March 8 as required by law?
Response as of 01.21.09: None.

MF High School Bricks
Fund Raiser Financials
Some years ago during your tenure at
MFISD the PTO at the high school had a
fund raiser; citizens paid for personalized
bricks which were later used in walkways
at the high school. Unfortunately, the bricks
chair did not choose to share financial
records with the rest of the PTO leadership;
folks who'd mailed in their checks and
cash were complaining to the leadership
that they had sent in their money but did not
receive their bricks. Yet when the PTO
leadership pressed to view those
financials, the administration blocked all of
our efforts. When I filed a public records
request several years later, there were still
no financials on record for that time period.
Wondering how you as chief administrator
would choose to explain this apparent
pattern at MFISD of, as TSPR put it,
"weaknesses in ... internal controls for
cash management and other financial
areas." One of the wonderful things about
this life is that we can use difficult
situations to become learning experiences,
wondering what if anything you feel you
learned from this one, with an emphasis
on the fact that while you were employed at
MFISD as chief administrator when several
parents tried to help the district strengthen
internal controls for cash management they
were rebuffed again and again; would very
much appreciate your perspective from a
distance of several years on this situation
and what if anything you might do differently
now. How are you strengthening internal
controls at Temple ISD, for example?
Response as of 01.21.09: None.

Temple ISD online check register
Speaking of transparency, your
predecessor at Temple ISD, Beto
Gonzalez, had spoken to me about putting
TISD's check register online. What if
anything are you doing to put TISD's check
register online? As you may or may not be
aware, there are at least 69 school districts
in Texas, including the two largest, who are
posting their check registers online now.
Also, TEA has been online since February.
Did you ever consider posting Longview
ISD's check register online?
Response as of 01.21.09: "As interim
superintendent, I have not found an
immediate plan for posting the TISD
check register online."

Temple ISD credit cards /
PEIMS 701 code expenses
Along these transparency lines, do you
have a TISD credit card of any kind
including "Procurement Cards" or
"P-Cards," etc.? In any event, have you
considered posting all of your PEIMS 701
code expenses online so that your parents
and taxpayers may see how you are
spending TISD's monies? It may well be
that your 701 code expenses are minimal; I
was surprised in viewing your expenses at
MFISD to see how many education
conferences you attended. The valet
parking charges were especially a bit
surprising at a time when schoolchildren in
MFISD schools were participating in
fundraisers to purchase basic items. Also
surprising were hotel room fees for
conferences in Austin and San Antonio, just
an hour or ninety minutes away.
Wondering how the valet parking charges
and hotel room fees are "For children."
Here again there is likely a perfectly
reasonable explanation, and perhaps you
are attending fewer conferences away from
the district in your present employment.
Response as of 01.21.09: "I do NOT
have a credit card nor did I have one
in Longview or Marble Falls."

Source of "Ph.D." Title
Dana, from which institution and when did
you receive your "Ph.D." title and what was
the title and subject of your dissertation?
Response as of 01.21.09: "All three
of my degrees are from Texas A&M
University, College Station, TX. and
my dissertation is on file in the
college library."
Could you please send me a copy of such
dissertation?
Receipt/Response as of 01.21.09: No.

Thank you for your assistance, and wishing
you all the best.

Peyton Wolcott
Horseshoe Bay, Texas
www.peytonwolcott.com

Dana Marable, Longview ISD

Dana Marable, Marble Falls ISD

deer jumping the
fence when they
weren't eating
everything we
put out including
"deer proof"
plants -- which
they looked at
then licked their
chops and said
to themselves,
"Lunch!" -- he
took over more
and more of the
gardening and I
started spending

November 11, 2007
Dana Marable,
- Temple ISD

Dana, hope this finds
you well and enjoying
your tenure in Temple
ISD.

The following are for
the book I'm writing
on public
education-related
issues and/or for
publication on my
website (URL below).
Many of these were
originally sent to you
in September 2006
while you were still
employed by
Longview ISD;
perhaps you have
been busy winding up
your exit from
Longview ISD as I
have not yet received
a response from you.
Presumably things
have settled down a
bit for you by now and
you will have time to
respond.

I do have some more
questions but these
will get the ball rolling.

Wishing you all the
best.

Peyton Wolcott
Horseshoe Bay,
Texas
www.peytonwolcott.co
m

Temple ISD

Del Rio ISD

Lancaster ISD

My queries to Dana Marable;
Responses in red below:

November 12, 2007

Dear Ms. Wolcott:
I have never received
this request. I am not
sure why I did not
receive it. I will
respond within a few
days to all your
question; however, I
am about to leave for
a meeting and will get
back to you asap……
……….dana marable

November 20, 2007
(eight days later)

Dear Ms. Wolcott:
The Temple Indepen-
dent School District
does not have docu-
ments responsive to
any of your requests,
and certainly the
Texas Public Informa-
tion Act does not
require a governmen-
tal entity to respond to
inquiries-------(how-
ever, I do not mind
telling you that I do
NOT have a credit
card nor did I have
one in Longview or
Marble Falls. Also, as
interim superinten-
dent, I have not found
an immediate plan for
posting the TISD
check register online.
All three of my
degrees are from
Texas A&M University,
College Station, TX.
and my dissertation is
on file in the college
library.) Regarding
documents that may
be in the possession
of other school
districts, such as
Longview ISD, Marble
Falls ISD or Medina
Valley ISD, I would
recommend that you
contact their officer of
public information.
They will have records
responsive to your
inquiries, which
should clarify the
factual inaccuracies
within your communi-
cation ………….Dana
S. Marable

Dana's responses

My follow up to
Dana--request for
clarification
November 21, 2007

Dana, thank you for
responding. You
mention "factual
inaccuracies." What
might these be?
Resending these
questions below for
one reason: to extend
to you another
opportunity to clear up
these outstanding
issues before sharing
them with a broader
audience. Also,
readers have raised
other issues such as
your interactions with
the community, and
discipline issues with
high schoolers.
Disappointing that you
have basically refused
to answer some
simple, direct
questions yourself.

Wishing you all the
best.

Peyton Wolcott
www.peytonwolcott.co
m

Response as of
01.21.09: None.

MORE RE DANA
MARABLE
$94,396 BUYOUT
IN LONGVIEW ISD

After months of
discussion regarding
her employment
status in Longview,
Texas, when supe
Dana Marable finally
resigned last month,
she was given a
check for $94,396 for
unused days, plus
another $5,000 for
her attorney. That's
one big check for
Longview taxpayers to
be writing, money that
could better have
been spent on their
kids and teachers.
This particular
superintendent has
had several years of
attending education
conferences yet
neither Longview nor
her previous district,
Marble Falls ISD,
ranked higher than
"Academically
Accepted," which is
Texas-speak for
"average" and "one
step above so bad the
Texas Education
Agency's stepping in."
To what end all the
receipts for valet
parking over the years
for this
superintendent?

DANA MARABLE
DROPS OUT OF
RUNNING FOR
TEMPLE TOP
JOB
School chief
pulls out;
Marable not on
list of candidates
by Tammy Leytham -
Temple Daily Telegram
Staff Writer
Published April 3, 2008
2276 Views

The interim superin-
tendent for the
Temple
school district
confirmed
Wednesday
that she has with-
drawn her name as
a candidate for the
superintendent
position.

“I was given the
opportunity to
withdraw my
name,” said Dr.
Dana Marable, who
has served in the
interim position
since September
2007. “I did that
Monday.”

The school board
announced that it
narrowed the list of
candidates to five
and would select
one finalist at the
next meeting on
Tuesday.
That person will be
hired at the May 1
meeting, according
to the board’s
timeline.

TISD board
president Steve
Wright said the list
had been narrowed
to two candidates,
but denied that Dr.
Marable was asked
to remove her
name from the list.
“She has not been
asked,” he said.

Dr. Marable came
out of retirement to
take the position at
TISD and said she
has no plans for
when her stint at
TISD ends at the
end of April. “I don’t
know if they’ll ask
me to stay on after
that,” she said.

She said she has
enjoyed working in
the school system.
“It’s been a
wonderful
experience,” Dr.
Marable said. “I can’
t tell you how much
I’ve enjoyed it.”

She said she had
learned a lot, and
“hopefully, I’ve left
some good
footprints for
whoever follows
me.”

Regina Baird,
spokeswoman for
the TISD, confirmed
Dr. Marable
removed her name
as a candidate.
“I have faith that the
board is diligently
searching and
believe they will
choose whoever
will be the best fit
for our district,” she
said.

The TISD board of
trustees was
scheduled to
discuss the final
candidates in
executive session
during a special
called meeting
Wednesday night,
Ms. Baird said.

Lancaster ISD
superintendent
[Larry Lewis
above]
requests
public hearing
to address
allegations
12:00 AM CST on Friday,
Dec. 19, 2008
By KATHY A. GOOLSBY
The Dallas Morning News

Lancaster schools
Superintendent
Larry Lewis came
out fighting
Thursday.

Two weeks after
board members
notified Dr. Lewis of
their intent to
terminate his
contract, the
superintendent
requested a public
hearing to answer
allegations against
him.

"We wouldn't be
asking for a hearing
if we didn't think we
could defend
ourselves," said
Neal Adams, Dr.
Lewis' attorney. "We
believe we will
prevail and Larry will
continue to fulfill his
contract with the
Lancaster
Independent School
District."

The request was
filed through the
state's education
commissioner. Dr.
Lewis has been on
paid leave since
mid-October. His
annual salary is
$197,600.

The district received
the notice on the
same day that
board members
hired an interim
superintendent.

In July, the board
hired an attorney to
look into allegations
raised by board
President Carolyn
Morris, including
that Dr. Lewis
withheld information
from board
members and
tampered with their
mail. The
investigation later
was expanded to
include financial
issues.

The inquiry found
that in addition to
withholding a
preliminary state
audit report from
board members, Dr.
Lewis also made
illegal zero-interest
loans and advances
of district money to
employees. The
investigation also
found that he paid
cash awards to
employees without
authority and proper
funding and failed to
inform the board
about 18
employees hired at
middle and high
schools but not
included in the
budget.

The investigation
concluded that Dr.
Lewis "abused his
position, committed
unauthorized and
illegal acts, was
dishonest in this
investigation,
abdicated his
leadership duties,
and repetitively
failed to notify the
board about critical
information." The
report did not
address the
allegations of mail
tampering.

Mr. Adams said Dr.
Lewis asked for a
public hearing
because he has
nothing to hide.

"If we need to have
this hearing behind
closed doors, then
it's my experience
that we need to be
talking about
something besides
a hearing," Mr.
Adams said.

He said he is
working with the
school board's
attorney to choose a
school law attorney
to hear the case. If
the two sides
cannot come to an
agreement on the
hearing officer,
Education
Commissioner
Robert Scott will
appoint one.

The officer must
hear the case and
provide a ruling
within 60 days, but
Mr. Adams said the
law allows for a
45-day extension.
He anticipates
asking for the
extension, with the
hearing taking place
sometime in March.

Don Henslee, the
board's attorney,
said the trustees
must approve any
extensions.

"I have no idea
whether they'll
approve an
extension. That will
be up to them," he
said.

Also on Thursday,
school trustees
hired Dana Marable
as the district's
interim
superintendent. Dr.
Marable is the
former
superintendent of
the Medina Valley,
Marble Falls and
Longview school
districts, and last
year served as
interim
superintendent in
the Temple school
district. She began
her education
career as a
classroom teacher
in 1970.

"I want to make a
difference and I
think there are
some good things
in Lancaster that we
can capitalize on,"
Dr. Marable said.

The board approved
her appointment in
a 5-1 vote, pending
negotiation of a
financial
agreement. Trustee
Marie Elliott cast the
dissenting vote, and
trustee Ed Kirkland
did not attend the
meeting.

Dr. Marable will
begin in Lancaster
after the winter
break.

[Hired to replace Larry
Lewis as interim Dec. 2008]

At Longview ISD: "A dozen
parents confronted Longview,
Texas superintendent Dana
Marable at a public meeting...
citing a need for stronger
discipline and academics at the
high school." Regarding fights
which brought police cars to the
high school, parents "were
alarmed at how superintendent
Dana Marable handled the
notification of parents."
(SOURCE--Longview News-Journal)

Other questions
re Temple ISD
interim position:
Why were
taxpayers asked to
pay for Dana's
moving expense?
Isn't that part of
the interim gig, that
they pay for their
own housing?
Especially for a
superintendent
who's already
retired, collecting
that nice TRS
monthly check,
made richer by
deferring sick and
vacation days until
the big last-job
payout, at top
o'the career wages
-- and double-
dipping?
In fact, if it's
really "for the
children," and the
supe's already
collecting a way
bigger TRS check
each month than
most families in the
school district, why
not work for free,
for the joy of being
about to do so?

Marble Falls High School

TSPR audit findings (Marble Falls ISD) here

Questions? Please call Lancaster ISD (972) 218 - 1400