"The Other Side of ECISD" 6/18/12

Shannon Murray
CBS 7 Reporter
smurray@cbs7.com
June 18, 2012

Odessa, TX - Some Ector County ISD employees have frequented board meetings this year, expressing their frustrations with the district and administration.

Now other principals and teachers say they will not be the "silent majority" any longer and they want their voices heard too.

Principals and teachers from 8 different campuses addressed the board to tell trustees what they like about the district and how happy they are on their campus. However, the positive energy quickly became heated when another group took the mic.

"I'm here to tell you some of the positive things happening at ECISD," explains one teacher addressing the board.

One after another principals and teachers take the microphone.

"I've been able to attend some of the board meetings and my concern is it's always been negative, I never hear a lot of positive...especially about our kids," says Crockett Junior High Principal Mauricio Marquez.

They took the time to showcase their campus.

"We cannot control what we see outside the window but we sure can control what we see in the mirror and that's ourselves,” explains Blanton Elementary School principal Linda Voss. “And it's our jobs as educators to take responsibility and do what it takes to help our kids succeed."

They also discussed excitement over new educational tools in the district like CSCOPE and Eduphoria.

"Being a 6th grade teacher, when I found out about it I locked myself in my room and I cried,” one teacher tells the board. “I was totally overwhelmed but as the year went on and I became more familiar with parts of CSCOPE it really made my job easier."

"It's evident in the data that this works," says another first year teacher.

But the mood quickly shifted after TSTA President Chuck Isner revealed the results from a survey conducted just 2 weeks before school got out. He says the results from the 810 responses are exactly what they expected.

"The concerns that we have been expressing all year long and have been dismissed largely by the administration and majority of the board are real," Isner says.

However, board members say the survey is not an accurate representation and was not conducted properly.

"The very worst time is to give a survey 2 weeks before schools out... everyone's tired, Mr. Isner,” explains trustee Dr. Donnie Norwood.
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"You took it upon yourself and whoever to go ahead and distribute this survey?" asks Superintendent Hector Mendez.

"Yes," Isner replied during the meeting.

"They're here to make me look bad," he claims. "And there’s no question in my mind about that."

Isner says they will be conducting another survey in the fall.

There were 810 responses on the NEA survey. That’s out of 3,400 employees.

Here’s a look at some of the highlights...

On a positive note, almost 89% say they are either "somewhat satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the impact they have on the lives of the students they serve.

58% say they are also somewhat or very satisfied with the "professional relationships" between staff and administration on their campus or work site.

However, 56% say they are either very or somewhat dissatisfied with the amount of administrative paperwork required of them.

59% say they are either very or somewhat dissatisfied with the amount of input they have on professional development decisions in their school or district.