The Mouse that Roared
by Quintin Kemph
In my eight years of service with PISD, I've seen almost everything.
Not everything.
I've seen walls move three times, sometimes ending up right where
they started from. I've seen lawns painted green because parents
complained about the grass (which was really weeds.) A mechanical
room so crowded that you had to move the desk, chairs, and other
supplies to work on the other equipment.
We were ordered to break asbestos off of the work tables in the
Williams work shop before it was remodeled into classrooms, chipping
it away and putting it in garbage bags (against the law.)
The last bond election, Ms. Greisdorf stood up in front of the
Service Center and told us that if the bond did not pass they
were going to choose between bricks or people, meaning that they
were going to cut back on people so they could afford to build
schools.
During a re-model of Aldridge Elementary, I picked up a box of
copier paper. I opened it and it was yellow. Upon further investigation,
I found a termite maze running through the entire box.
I've seen the effect of roofs that were installed with several
inches of water on the deck while the insulation was installed.
A ventilation system in a building during winter will save electricity,
because you have to cool the internal rooms with cold air. Shepton
High School had such a system on the original plans, but it got
traded for other, more important things. Now, during the winter,
you as a taxpayer have to run a 350 ton chiller and water system.
If you had a ventilation system you wouldn't need them.
Once, a $2,500 part that was given to a contractor was turned
in to authorities. The contractor plea-bargained out of it, so
it was returned and put on a shelf. Later it was sold at public
auction in Rockwall for pennies on the dollar.
A full time position was created to go from school to school to
pick up furniture - desks, chairs, tables, filing cabinets, etc.
- to be delivered to auction in Rockwall.
I've ordered parts through the bid system. After picking up a
part, I call the dealer whose air conditioner I was working on
and get a price of 30%-50% less.
The very reason to do a bid system
is to save money.
Let me fill you in on A/C manufacturers sneaky tricks with the
equipment. They slightly change the part and engineer it into
the system, so that you have to come to them to get it. These
are known as OEM parts. Now, you can't get that part except from
that manufacturer, so if you're in a bid system, you get the closest
thing to it. You end up re-engineering the "discounted part"
into the A/C and most of the time it takes 1-3 hours longer than
OEM parts.
I've seen new principals announced, and then immediately a facelift
of a school would start. Redecorated front offices, the painting
of the whole school, maybe change the color of the chairs in each
grade level, and maybe the next year you get carpet. I've seen
principals moved around from school to school and finally they
get a cushy job at the Administration Building. Or finally quit
because of some playground equipment dispute, then come back to
be a principal of a school nobody wants. It sure is funny how
far a bus driver can go if she really puts her mind to it.
I've seen schools accepted from contractors that grew mold and
mildew in the walls, in carpet and in A/C ducts. The powers-to-be
were notified weeks after the building was accepted. There was
a problem humidity caused by poor, low-bid installation of building
materials and A/C equipment. All they had to do was contact the
General Contractor and inform the company that if it wasn't fixed
the bonding company would come in and fix it. But it was an actual
problem they could throw money at instead. I believe they went
in and put layers of plastic down to keep humidity from entering
the building. I spent countless hours there trying to find the
problem. The contractor finally found water entering from the windows and roof.
I've even had to help contractors who were behind in construction
to help open the school on time. That means you had to pay more
for that project. But after the project, they continue to use
that contractor.
I've replaced an A/C unit one time that kids vandalized so bad
that it had to be replaced. And all the district did was put up
the same size fence that was there before. Oh, some motion sensors
were put up in a location that wasn't of importance.
I've seen silver tray catering at the administration building
several times a week. I've seen the former Superintendent hand out ice
cream to Administration staff. Then, when somebody of importance
would come to Administration, the ice cream and little pink cart
would be taken away from the administration and hidden in an undisclosed
location (usually in a crowded mechanical room.) Have you seen
a pink and white cart on a PISD truck?
I've seen "Space Invaders" played on Macintoshes.
Basically, what I'm saying is that if the PISD were run like a
business, it would have gone bankrupt a long time ago. I think
a watchdog committee is needed to watch our money. The budget
needs to be overhauled so that if you don't need the money at
the end of the year, you don't lose it the next year. I think
that moneys should not be transferred from one account to another
without somebody knowing why and where.
As for the bond, all schools are already wired for computers.
Yes, that's right. All they need is this bond to pass, so they
can get the computers next. I believe the last bond was for the
elementary's to get wiring and computers. All I'm saying is that
in this day and age, we need to make it count the first time.
We don't need new or more taxes. Money's tight.
In eight years of service I've seen lots of waste, and it needs
to stop. It sure is bad when an administrator that sits behind
a big desk makes more money than the ones who are out there teaching
your children. Now, which job is more important: teaching or sitting?
Always remember, when a fish starts rotting, it starts at the
head first. It's time to wake up and have some spine and say,
"That's enough." I've always said that if the taxpayers
knew how their money was being spent, there would be public hangings.
Of course, after PISD hears about this article, they'll hold meetings
with everybody and tell them not to say anything, and refer people
to the Communications Department where they are trained to answer
questions like that. They'll say something about me, but I'm ready
to go to court to say this. Hopefully, I can clear the smoke so
everyone can see what they're doing with our money.
- Quintin Kemph
