Kevin O’Connor Kommentary January 8

College Station ISD School Board Members Approve Pay Increases By Spending Money From The District’s Savings

College Station ISD school board members decide to spend another $2 million dollars out of the district’s savings account for pay raises in the soon to start school year. That’s above the $4 million dollars that will be taken out of what is officially known as fund balance to make ends meet for the 2024-2025 school year. Superintendent Tim Harkrider pointed out what he described as “very nominal student growth” in CSISD, saying if the 1,100 students inside the district boundaries would attend CSISD schools, there would be no budget issue. The CSISD board’s unanimous vote at their July 16th meeting provided another opportunity to bring up that state lawmakers have not increased funding for the last five years. Board member Blaine Decker noted that state lawmakers are receiving a five percent raise. Almost all CSISD employees will be receiving a two percent raise. Bus drivers will be receiving a 2.5 percent raise. Board members learned that out of 14 districts in the region, CSISD has the second lowest teacher turnover rate and is tied with Bryan for the ninth highest pay for first year teachers. Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the July 16, 2024 College Station ISD school board meeting. Click below to hear some of the comments from the July 16, 2024 College Station ISD school board meeting.  

Bryan ISD School Board Takes Up Two Safety And Security Items

Monday night’s (July 15) Bryan ISD school board meeting included two items involving safety and security. Behind closed doors, board members discussed what the agenda described as the “deployment of critical infrastructure and security devices”. No action followed the executive session. And the board approved the annual agreement with the city of Bryan for school resource officers at BISD junior high and high schools and the district’s alternative school. Security director Rich Himmel said there will continue to be ten officers and one sergeant. The board without comment, unanimously approved the $1 million dollar interlocal agreement. The cost represented an increase of less than one percent. Security at other BISD campuses is provided by a private company. Click HERE to read and download the BISD-city of Bryan school resource officer interlocal agreement that was approved at the July 15, 2024 BISD board meeting. Click below to hear comments from Rich Himmel at the July 15, 2024 BISD board meeting.  

City Of Bryan Announces A New Chief Financial Officer

A recent e-mail from the city of Bryan contained announcements that included the naming of new chief financial officer (CFO). The announcement came after the Bryan city council’s July 9th workshop meeting, when someone named “Katherine” was asked several times during budget presentations if the numbers were all right. Click below to hear references to “Katherine” from mayor Bobby Gutierrez during the council’s July 9, 2024 workshop meeting.   The city of Bryan’s new CFO, Katherine Tapscott, started July 1st after serving in a similar position in Tomball. The city’s e-mail stated her predecessor, Will Smith, accepted a financial advisor position outside of Bryan. But Smith also participated in one of the budget presentations. City of Bryan announcement: On July 1, Katherine Tapscott joined the City of Bryan and Bryan Texas Utilities as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The transition comes as former CFO, Will Smith, accepted a financial advisor position outside of the city. Katherine, a Certified Public Accountant, holds a Master of Accounting and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting (Summa Cum Laude) from Texas State University. She came from the City of Tomball where she served as the Finance Director, and prior to that she served the same role for the City of West University Place. Katherine’s local government experience is complemented by a utilities finance background having worked at New Braunfels Utilities, Pedernales Electric Cooperative Inc., and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. (ERCOT).