The Bayou
Friday, October 16, 2009

YOU LIE! And other great moments in BISD board history

A $1 million scoreboard?!?!?! That's like spending $46 on a can of tuna fish. Before you think we're planning an assault on the BISD for the purchase of this beacon to overspending, think again. It ain't all that big a deal. Well, it's sort of a deal. After all, the district did budget only $100K for a new scoreboard.

But with advertising revenue and such, they CLAIM this ridiculous expenditure -- that, like Carrol Thomas's job situation, can also withstand 120 mph winds -- will pay for itself.

When it doesn't (and it probably won't), please check back here to find said rant.

Instead, there were two developments at last night's board soiree that piqued our interest. The board actually said NO to "Doc" Thomas. YOU LIE! 'Fraid not.

"In a surprise decision the BISD board rejected two of the superintendents recommendations for district positions. Dr. Carrol Thomas had submitted the names of two men for the positions of Smith Middle School Principal, and the district's Chief Financial Officer."

The vote: 5 to 2 against. Who were these divisive candidates (both men)? We'll let you know when we find out (it was a closed session). Did it take a citizen's planned petition to remake the school board to FINALLY encourage these "yes" people to grow a set? Funny how threatening someone's job can get them moving.

This obviously put our pal "Doc" is a surly mood. He railed against the media last night, taking them to task for spreading lies about the bond project.

"The media was a hot topic discussed Thursday night. Dr. Thomas said some members of the media were spreading lies about the bond project. He told board members to stay strong. He also asked the public to only listen the facts, and to not listen to the media's lies."

Lies? How's THIS kicker?

Thomas said that "the majority of the public supports the district and what the board has accomplished." They do, "Doc"? Really?

Then why is there a huge push to alter the makeup of the board? Why are South Park alum suing you? Why is there an angry, active blog full of frustrated Sallie Curtis parents who claim the district is ignoring their concerns?

If that's support, we'd hate to see what things look like when folks get really peeved.

Posted by GATOR at 9:30 AM

Labels: athletics, BISD, Carrol Thomas, Sallie Curtis, school boards, South Park High School

18 Gator-baiters:

Anonymous said...
The BISD is a trainwreck. They make our area look like a complete joke.
October 16, 2009 10:21 AM

weedeaterbreath said...
god thomas is a joke
October 16, 2009 1:44 PM

Anonymous said...
Well - NISD boosters built a big scoreboard to keep up with PNGISD. Advertising was supposed to pay for all the upkeep - but they can't sell all the spaces, therefore the district is picking up that tab. Maintenance, personnel costs to run it, etc. What a joke. It's like they think it's an open checkbook. Oh yea, kinda' like Obama and Congress thinks they have.
October 16, 2009 1:47 PM

Anonymous said...
So why don't the people in BISD start calling, writing, hounding their school board members to get rid of Dr Thomas?
October 16, 2009 1:47 PM

Anonymous said...
The reason why most board members don't want to run off Thomas, is because he's the liner of their pockets, from all the under the table deals...You have 2 that are against him..So go figure...
October 16, 2009 2:26 PM

Nuggets of Wisdom said...
I am sure the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce and the H.R. dept of Exxon Mobil will buy a huge ad on the scoreboard. They sponsored Carrol Thomas book "Nuggets of Wisdom" and sent it to all the Businesses in the area. They forgot to sent the petroleum jelly with my copy.
October 16, 2009 3:06 PM

Anonymous said...
What do you mean you dont know who voted against the recommendations because it was "a closed session." Texas Open Meetings Act REQUIRES all votes and decisions to be made in an OPEN session. What the hell is going on Gator?
October 16, 2009 7:56 PM

GATOR said...
We don't like it either, Anon 7:56. But it was an executive session and dealt specifically with personnel matters, so it was on the up-and-up. The board holds the up-or-down vote in public, but discusses the job candidates in private. Here's the relevant portion of the Texas Open Meetings Act: "There are seven exceptions that generally authorize closed meetings, also known as “executive sessions.” The exceptions include discussions involving: (1) purchase or lease of real property; (2) security measures; (3) receipt of gifts; (4) consultation with attorney; (5) personnel matters; (6) economic development; and (7) certain homeland security matters. The governing body must first convene in open session, identify which issues will be discussed in executive session, and cite the time and applicable exception. All final actions, decisions, or votes must be made in an open meeting."
October 16, 2009 8:20 PM

Anonymous said...
They're holding an "emergency meeting" Monday Gator. Maybe you can sneak in wearing you Jerry Jordan disguise.
October 17, 2009 8:15 AM

Buddy said...
Just another reason for the board to be totally elected at large. Thomas has got to go, either fired or imprisoned for malfeasance, I don't care which.
October 17, 2009 8:51 AM

gatekeeper said...
"Then why is there a huge push to alter the makeup of the board?"
Because white folk dont like colored people telling them what to do, they cant do nothing about Obama so they going to focus locally on thomas.
"Why are South Park alum suing you?"
Well white people (many who dont even live in South Park) hate to see black children being educated properly cause this education might result in another "Obama" and that just cant happen again!
"Why is there an angry, active blog full of frustrated Sallie Curtis parents who claim the district is ignoring their concerns?"
Its called demographics...sure you will find a few specks of pepper among the salt but its mainly salt.
Thomas is right! the local media interpets the facts instead of giving ALL the facts for the public to interpet!
October 17, 2009 7:32 PM

Anonymous said...
""the majority of the public supports the district and what the board has accomplished"" the public must support him they passed the bond package or is it because beaumont's population is mostly black and you dont count them cause their vote only equals 3/5 of yours
October 17, 2009 7:40 PM

ML said...
I guess that scoreboard makes up for the loss of our track we were supposed to get at Regina Howell. I don't care if our superintindent is black, white, or purple. I would just love to have one that cares more about the kids than his bank account. The schools that are being repaired or rebuilt needed to be in order for our kids to get quality education. I think the money for the comlex could have gone for a pay raise for teachers or better supplies for our kids. As far as BISD as a whole, I took my daughter OUT of private school and put her IN public school. Regina Howell is a wonderful school and we love it. The teachers there are dedicated and Mrs. Hardy, the principle, does an excellent job. I would like to think that most parents feel that way about their child's school.
October 17, 2009 11:32 PM

MEZEUS said...
WHO IS 'JERRY JORDAN'? October 18, 2009 10:52 AM

just grandma said...
I'm confused. What do scoreboard's have to do with education?
October 18, 2009 12:34 PM

Anonymous said...
Why is it that when a white is accused of lying and lining their own pockets, the blacks are the first to say he deserves max punishment. But when a black is accused of the same thing, the first thing the blacks say is "It's racism." If most of the voters in Beaumont are black, they should be the angriest at their tax money being misspent by a runaway school board. It should always be about education, not scoreboards. The $900,000 over budget expenditure could have gone for much needed educational materials. When will it end? October 18, 2009 1:11 PM

Buddy said...
The facts are that the majority of Beaumont citizens are not black, unless you use Thomas' type of math and call 38% a majority. I don't care about the ethnicity of our elected officials, only that they do their job and serve with honesty and integrity. Thomas has neither quality, and should be prosecuted for his actions.
October 18, 2009 9:23 PM

im not your buddy, friend said...
buddy, stop pulling numbers from ur azz and look up this website www.quickfacts.census.gov and u find that bmt has 46.4% white and 45.8% black. what this has to do with a scoreboard i dont know. but stop posting false crap dummy!
October 18, 2009 10:54 PM


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