Eanes is at a critical juncture as we begin another Trustee election cycle. Last year I warned extensively of looming “success failures” and the closure of Valley View Elementary; termination of Spanish Immersion and a $6 million budget deficit are proof the current Board of Trustees are not managing our tax dollars properly or responding to population decay trends that are unique to the Westlake demographic. Voters should remain dubious about candidates or incumbents that claim our problems are created by the Texas legislature, low birth rates or falling home values. Reject the narrative that, “School districts all across Texas are struggling [and so it's expected for Eanes to struggle too].”
Trustees have rejected the wants and needs of parents for too long and so last year we sent a survey to more than 8,000 taxpayers and voters in the Eanes school district to try to get a better understanding of the actual issues on the minds of parents and taxpayers and what they hope our Board of Trustees and candidates will address.
Teacher Retention. The prospect of losing more of Eanes’ great teachers is the biggest concern for Eanes residents and they support bold and forward-thinking solutions to help our teachers.
Communication & Transparency. The Board of Trustees communication about critical issues our district faces is papered over and sugar coated. Specific actions to solve issues are not reaching parents.
Future Plans for Eanes: Parents want an honest, robust community conversation about the future of our school district, number of schools, students and transfers.
When was the last time Eanes leadership sent you a survey to understand what you are concerned about?
Eanes Teachers Survey Results
58.9% of respondents said that Teacher Retention was one of the three most important issues facing the district.
68.1% support creating a merit-based school policy that pays the best teachers in Eanes more than $100,000 per year, rewarding them for their hard work and helping them stay in the district.
72.1% support banning personal cell phones during class time which have become a major distraction for students and teachers.
54.7% support reducing teacher responsibilities not related to education, including dealing with SEL, DEI and mental health issues. Let teachers do what they love, teach.
Since the survey results were announced, the Board of Trustees has not proposed a single policy to address any of these important issues.
Board Communication Survey Results
35.4% of respondents knew that Eanes lost more than 20% of its teachers in 2023, 7% more than the state average. Had more people known this fact, the desire to act to support our teachers would likely be much, much higher.
35.3% knew that Eanes has had multi-million dollar budget deficits in each of the last three years, including projecting a $3 million budget deficit this year and a $6 - $7 million deficit next year.
29.1% knew that Eanes issued $215 million in long-term debt since 2019 and used 11% of those funds to make up for budget deficits and pay for ongoing maintenance expenses.
15.7% knew that Eanes has a district-wide policy that allows the schools to keep some information about students from their parents.
Instead of trying to conceal the problems, don’t we deserve a Board of Trustees that communicates openly and honestly about the challenges our district faces and engages our community to identify solutions to these problems?
Community Conversation About The Future of Eanes
In April of 2024, I posted an article Has Peak Eanes? that laid out the problem of declining enrollment and the 10 year implications of that trend for the future of our district. At that time, the Board of Trustees dismissed it as an unserious analysis. In the Westlake Hills candidate forum I laid out the problem and encouraged the other candidates to engage me in a dialogue about the future of our district. Board President Spradley indicated that he didn’t think it was a real issue and the other candidates just ignored it.
Well, in January of this year, Superintendent Dr. Jeff Arnett’s team made a presentation on future enrollment for the district that completely validated my analysis. They came to the same conclusion: Declining enrollment has and will create a significant gap in the total capacity of the district and the total enrollment, forcing us to either bring in a lot more transfer students or start closing schools, which is exactly what they did - proposing to close Valley View elementary. I issued my 10 Year Bold Plan for Eanes on November 27th, which predicts we actually only need 4 elementary schools, 2 middle schools and 1 high school for a population that will eclipse 5,500 in less than 10 years. Let’s hope they validate that predication soon?
While I have a preferred path, what is clear from the survey results and conversations I am having with voters is that the community wants and needs to have a real conversation about the population decay issue. We need Trustees to choose a path, set a policy and get clear communications to the public.
The community is SPLIT on the issue about solving the population problem:
37.5% support the district transferring more students - open enrollment - to make up for falling population even though those families’ households do not help repay long-term bonds
38.1% do not support an open enrollment / high transfer policy, and another 24.4% don’t know.
58.7% of respondents knew that Eanes has become dependent on transfer students who do not live in the district to fill the enrollment/budget gap.
The Board of Trustees has not communicated to the community that transfers are NOT a viable long term option and have maxed out as their numbers are trending downward.
I just did.
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