FW parents and Prop Tax Payers

[LVH]

Obviously the issue is complex, but there's definitely a culture problem.

I taught at an after school program for a bit at a middle school in Fort Worth, and you knew which kids you couldn't discipline because the parents were a bigger problem than the kids.

There was a 7th grader that I'm almost positive was dealing drugs (and I know stole my wallet), and the parents attitude when you called was always, "Why are you wasting my time?"

I went to a poorer public school (I believe 50% were on free or reduced lunch), but we had IB and AP classes. Even though those classes were open to everyone, the vast majority of my classmates were white. When I took non-AP classes that everyone had to take, a good portion of the regular students never paid attention.

I don't know what the answer is, but it's hard to help someone who won't help themselves.

I am a FWISD product myself, was in the magnet program for elementary school. The schools they had us attend were shady and sketchy. One of the schools they had us go to was Morningside Elementary and the parents of the kids who actually went there for the school and not the magnet program thought the magnet program was racist since they were bussing in all these white kids from all over Fort Worth to take higher level classes at a school that was heavily black. Even though there were some black kids in my magnet classes.

The magnet program lasted one year at Morningside before the constant protesting and picketing caused it to relocate to another school in the district.

 

[WIN]

tough to say for most of us. i know talking to people who i know who teach they talk about the amount of time during a period, a semester, a year that gets eaten up by a variety for a variety of reasons and not just teaching something such as crt

the other challenge that has gotten bigger and bigger i am told is the lack of help from home in terms of making sure kids are getting their work done, parents being involved, etc...

Told this story on here before. My wife taught reading at Dunbar High for a few years. So parents night she asked me to join her for the festivities and I was rather excited to join her and enjoy the experience. We were there for 2 hours. She had one student come in the whole night and his older brother brought him. The school was a ghost town, I was shocked.
She would come home from work in tears on a regular basis because of the racist treatment from the faculty. She loved the kids.

 

[Dogfrog]

Told this story on here before. My wife taught reading at Dunbar High for a few years. So parents night she asked me to join her for the festivities and I was rather excited to join her and enjoy the experience. We were there for 2 hours. She had one student come in the whole night and his older brother brought him. The school was a ghost town, I was shocked.
She would come home from work in tears on a regular basis because of the racist treatment from the faculty. She loved the kids.

That’s my wife too. When our kids got old enough to drive, down in Houston, she parlayed her business degree into an alternate teaching certificate because she always wanted to teach. Then convinced an elementary principal over in LaPorte to hire her, completed a year of teaching 4th grade to earn full certification. Two years later was teacher of the year at her school. We have many very good people who love the kids. Just have a system that has mostly taken its eyes off the ball.

 

[Eight]

Told this story on here before. My wife taught reading at Dunbar High for a few years. So parents night she asked me to join her for the festivities and I was rather excited to join her and enjoy the experience. We were there for 2 hours. She had one student come in the whole night and his older brother brought him. The school was a ghost town, I was shocked.
She would come home from work in tears on a regular basis because of the racist treatment from the faculty. She loved the kids.

wife's niece is married to a principal at an elementary north of the columbia river in the portland area. middle to lower economic area in a very expensive part of the country,

he had to make multiple home visits the past year or so to make sure someone at home could help the elementary students log in and the norm was a grandparent who couldn't speak english or an older sibling.

very common it was a single parent household and the parent worked multiple shifts or multiple jobs to make ends meet.

 

[The Artist Formerly Known as PhormerPhrog]

I saw an ad for Fort Worth ISD come up on the TV at the Fort Worth area gym I was at today, during the Olympic broadcast. Why is FWISD spending so much money on Olympic ad buys to convince people in the area to enroll? My guess is they are hemorrhaging students as more parents decide to go the home school or private route.

Even if enrollment is hemorrhaging they're still getting the tax dollars.

 

[The Artist Formerly Known as PhormerPhrog]

That’s my wife too. When our kids got old enough to drive, down in Houston, she parlayed her business degree into an alternate teaching certificate because she always wanted to teach. Then convinced an elementary principal over in LaPorte to hire her, completed a year of teaching 4th grade to earn full certification. Two years later was teacher of the year at her school. We have many very good people who love the kids. Just have a system that has mostly taken its eyes off the ball.

My sister taught in Duncanville for three years and had 2 visitors total to open house night.

 

[Spike]

The only way for the homeowners in the city to get relief is to have more business in the city that offer good paying jobs instead of low paying jobs. Too much focus on warehouse jobs and travel jobs which people cannot afford housing and live in apartments. Thus, the homeowners get an ever larger share of the tax burden over businesses. The way to get good paying jobs is a workforce that is educated and not forced to drive to Dallas or Collin county to find a job to support ownership.

Over the past 20yrs our property tax burden has disproportionally shifted to residential properties:

Fort Worth property tax burden:

2001: 55% commercial vs 45% residential

2011: 45% commercial vs 55% residential

2021: 35% commercial vs 65% residential

The only way? How about an audit of the FWISD and an accounting for where the money is going? Same w TCC.

 

[Eight]

The only way? How about an audit of the FWISD and an accounting for where the money is going? Same w TCC.

sure it is all being well accounted for and spent for meaningful and effective teaching of the students

 

[Brog]

The only way for the homeowners in the city to get relief is to have more business in the city that offer good paying jobs instead of low paying jobs. Too much focus on warehouse jobs and travel jobs which people cannot afford housing and live in apartments. Thus, the homeowners get an ever larger share of the tax burden over businesses. The way to get good paying jobs is a workforce that is educated and not forced to drive to Dallas or Collin county to find a job to support ownership.

Over the past 20yrs our property tax burden has disproportionally shifted to residential properties:

Fort Worth property tax burden:

2001: 55% commercial vs 45% residential

2011: 45% commercial vs 55% residential

2021: 35% commercial vs 65% residential

Those figures are outrageous. Would like to know where you got them. Is that available to any of us?

 

[mc1502]

That's so odd. The Ellis County HS my kids go to pumps out college students like there's no tomorrow. How is that even possible without a team of equity consultants?

 

[The Artist Formerly Known as PhormerPhrog]

Those figures are outrageous. Would like to know where you got them. Is that available to any of us?

They're right. Look up Robert Sturns, economic director for COFW. His office may have the numbers. I used to see him a few times a year at various luncheons. Last time I saw him speak was late 2019 and we were at 40/60 and dropping much faster than we'd like to admit. I may be totally wrong but I think Lockheed is still enjoying and incredible tax abatement as are most of the large legacy employers in our city.

 

[The Artist Formerly Known as PhormerPhrog]

Those figures are outrageous. Would like to know where you got them. Is that available to any of us?

Probably here somewhere
https://www.fortworthtexas.gov/departments/ecodev/edplan

 

[Aircav07]

Even if enrollment is hemorrhaging they're still getting the tax dollars.

Not if those kids are going to charter schools. The tax dollars are then redirected (usually at higher rates per/student than for the regular school) from FWISD to the charter school.

As a 13 year veteran teacher in FWISD, and having grown up in FWISD, I can tell you SO MUCH money is wasted by a bloated administration and bureaucracy that it would make your head spin.

As a classroom teacher, we have to fight so much BS from administration, it takes away nearly 3 full weeks of class time throughout the year including all the standardized testing/benchmarking, etc.

Teaching history, CRT would directly apply to my content. But, I can tell you, from the teachers I work with, as well as the ones I know throughout the district (again, HS level), history taught right covers all sides of a topic anyway, and any “focus on CRT” by the district wouldn’t actually change how or what classroom teachers actually teach. So yes, huge waste of time and money.

 

[Eight]

Not if those kids are going to charter schools. The tax dollars are then redirected (usually at higher rates per/student than for the regular school) from FWISD to the charter school.

As a 13 year veteran teacher in FWISD, and having grown up in FWISD, I can tell you SO MUCH money is wasted by a bloated administration and bureaucracy that it would make your head spin.

As a classroom teacher, we have to fight so much BS from administration, it takes away nearly 3 full weeks of class time throughout the year including all the standardized testing/benchmarking, etc.

Teaching history, CRT would directly apply to my content. But, I can tell you, from the teachers I work with, as well as the ones I know throughout the district (again, HS level), history taught right covers all sides of a topic anyway, and any “focus on CRT” by the district wouldn’t actually change how or what classroom teachers actually teach. So yes, huge waste of time and money.

thanks for your service in both areas of your life

 

[Paul in uhh]

I’m surprised that the tanglewood/pascal/westcliff area hasn’t broken off into its own ISD. Wonder how hard that would be to make happen.