I'm surprised they don't offer it already since they have AP classes. I graduated 20 yrs ago from a school in Tulsa that had the IB program. It was a good program but I wasn't smart enough.....lol

Having an IB program would be great however, I wonder how that would work with the government funding and whether or not the IB program would acutally reach its' full potential. In addition, I would be concerned about unqualified teachers. While I'm a huge supporter of the IB program, as my daughter is enrolled in the IB program at a private institution, I don't think that and ISD can fully institute and work the program how it should be when they're hands are going to be tied in terms of state and federal guidelines. i mean where does the TAKS fit in or will the IB school be absolved from participating in the TAKS? Who determines who gets in and how - will this be another situation of connections? Great idea, but many many questions.

Nikki,
The district is still working out the kinks on some of your questions. I think it will prove to be a very challenging program to implement as well. There are several IB schools in Houston that are doing well but I don't think any are like this one will be (open to K-12).

Might we get a little clarification?

The article says, "at this time, the cost estimates for operation of the program are projected to be about $7.3 million per year at the secondary level. In comparison, a traditional high school costs about $10.2 million per year to operate and a junior high runs about $4.5 million, Canady said."

Does this include the transportation package which I am sure will be much higher if we need to bus from one end of the district to the other?

And comparing "apples to apples" when you say this is one of the few K-12 programs anywhere how are we to make sense of the numbers above and for that matter since this is for 13 grades, how many students will we service for the $7.3 million dollars? Somehow I suspect for $10.2 million we are serving quite a few more students at anyone of our six high schools. Cost per head would be a nice even number many of us can relate to. Does this $7.3 million include any of the IB expenses which will ONLY apply to this campus? Or are those a separate line item?

Then how much are we spending on the physical plant to house this number of students, and again, even though we will not have a field house, a PAC (or will we?) and other items which many students will want, what is the cost per head given the capacity of the campus?

I mention this only because if the district wants to sell this program to us as a "value" lets find out what the true cost is, then talk about it. I believe the Board owes it to all of us to disclose all the costs both capital and operating for this project before they add it to the next bond request.

I'll be one of the first in line! Can't happen soon enough for me.

They spend more on football, let's give the brainiacs something to shoot for too!

I wish this had been in place when we moved here a couple of years ago. We came from an IB school and it would have been nice to continue - it just didn't work out.

But I do agree with Ross Raymond - there needs to be LOTS of transparency here, especially with respect to costs (ALL costs) and expected student enrollment.

Go to the Katy ISD Web site (www.katyisd.org) and click on the "Wolfe School Program Design." There is more information available on the progress of this program.

I would also like to see a complete spreadsheet with all the costs involved.

Helen,

I assume as a member of the press you will "press" for this information and share it will all of us. I am not "anti" IB, but I am "anti" these blank checks the Board requests of us.

Just tell us what it cost and what we are getting for it. And if the IB program is for "brains" are there any special costs if we open a school and make it all GT/AP? We have enough of these students to allow for a band, a PAC, a football team, etc. If we want to we can build it at the Wolfe location as that seems to be a requirement for anything going forward.

Just a thought.

if wolfe elementary is the one i'm thinking of, it is located east of highway 6. that is almost 20 miles from katy so that is 40 miles round trip and that doesn't count the number of buses that will be needed and/or the routes to be used. raines high school is more centrally located and has room to expand, just a thought

As for IB being for "the brains" - yes and no.

Finishing the IB diploma program (11th-12th grades) takes discipline, hard work, and great time management skills, but that doesn't mean someone has to be "gifted" or "brilliant" to do it - just very motivated. I have no experience with the Primary Years Program, so I don't feel qualified to comment, but I would say the same for the Middle Years Program (6th-10th). My children are bright, but not "GT" - and they performed quite well in the MYP.

Overall, I like the IB program, and I think it would be a great addition for this district. BUT I don't want to see it crammed down anyone's throat, and I don't want it pushed forward without full disclosure about costs. I also want to see realistic expectation of enrollment numbers.

81elcamino (nice car as I recall part car part gentleman's pick up)

Your comments are correct about the location and the distance. Where it not for the fact we need to do something with the Wolfe situation, we would not build a school at this location with the understanding we would invite students from across the district to attend. It is the worst possible location, I dare anyone to pick a worse one in the district; there are some stinkers, but nothing worse.

The truth is the area deserves a school, the truth is this is a very poor place to place the IB campus, but the former and not the later is what is controlling this decision. Of course we could address the Wolfe issue and pass on IB period but given so many at the ESC are so excited about this, it is probably impossible to put the Genie back into the bottle.

Well, it's a couple of things going on...

KISD neglected Wolfe long enough to let it fall apart. About 400 students go to school there. It's not the fault of families in the neighborhood that they are in KISD yet so far away from Katy. The ISD boundries are what they are.

KISD owes it to its families to take care of their neighborhood schools, whether in the "Heart of Katy" or Far East, North, South, or West.

Keeping an elementary campus of some-sort close enough to those families is important.

Yet the standard 1000 student elementary architecture isn't wise.

I for one, like the innovative idea of turning Wolfe into an IB school. It keeps an elementary school in the neighborhood, and entices folks from around the district, who may benefit from the IB curriculuum.

And as I get to know my neighbors, I see that Katy attracts folks in industries (oil) who relocate every few years. Not just across the country... but around the world!

Folks who I know personally that look forward to an IB school, aren't looking for it in terms of prestige or academic rigors. No, these folks travel all around the world for their jobs... shuttling their families from one country to another. An IB curiculuum gives them continuity... so that where-ever they move, their education continues on the same course.

And guess where most these folks work? Yup just down the street from Wolfe in the Energy Corridor. Is it close to their house in Cinco Ranch? No, but it's minutes from work!

I know I'm too simple... but in terms of transportation, couldn't they just bus the neighborhood Wolfe kids, and then anyone else who chooses IB voluntarily, provide their own transportation? Seems that mom or dad would be headed that way on the way to work anyways!

And as a sidenote... please let this be a lesson to KISD that we can't just build and then ignore schools as they fall apart because they are so far out. Don't let Stanley Elem (in the far SW corner of KISD) be another Wolfe elementary 40 years from now because it isn't "centrally located" and no longer "new and shiny"

descovy makes a strong case and one worth considering. He/she is correct about the district allowing this school to fall apart while asking for hundreds of millions in bonds for both new construction and rehab work for older schools. Many local taxpayers and parents have wondered for years why the Board took this approach.

If this location is going to be viable massive busing is necessary as it is my understanding there are only about 250 students who live nearby and many of them are in apartments and not from families engaged in world wide travel for their jobs.

Personally, I would not have enjoyed my elementary aged children (mine are older now) attending a K-12 campus. I assume there are many reasons why we don't take the "Little House on the Prairie" approach when grouping our youngest and oldest students together. Even with IB programs, it seems this "all together" concept is very rare. Why do we feel a need to buck the conventional wisdom even among existing IB schools? Could it be because if we don't there is no way to justify the numbers? Or does this make us "special" in the eyes of those in the know?

I don't mind building a 500 person state of the art elementary school on location and MAYBE selling some of the land we own there and at other locations, e.g. north of Cinco Ranch High School, to pay of it. However it is my understanding this was not offered as a serious alternative to the current option. Maybe the numbers did not work for that option either? If it is a numbers game and the cost of a conventional elementary school is out of whack, should we add to the distortion and superimpose another set of costs on top of this location via IB?

I understand there are folks working very hard to make IB/K-12 at Wolfe a reality. How many of them have an elementary aged child who will attend this location vs those who think this is a "trophy" item our district "needs" in order to be taken seriously as an achieving district?

Didn't two Katy ISD schools come in first and second this year for the state wide academic decathlon? Don't we have one of the highest student percentages in the state of students in the GT/AP programs? Aren't our SAT/ACT schools WAY above both the state and national averages? Don't we have one of the lowest dropout rates in the state and country? Don't our students excel in fine arts; music, theater, art, dance, etc. Doesn't KISD represent itself well at the state level in all manner of sports; football, tennis, golf, swimming, diving, track and field, volley ball, soccer, etc.?

Is the thinking IB will round this out for us and now we will be a better district? Is this the best use of our money? If so, run with it, if not, then let's build a very nice school in the area and get on with educating all 60K of our students. If this neighborhood had not been so neglected in the first place would we be having this discussion?

I can only attest to what I have read in the Katy ISD press releases since 2008, as I am not a parent at Wolfe elementary.

If you go to the Katy ISD site, you can find the Wolfe steering committee in the archives. There is a list of parents, educators that worked at building a viable plan for Wolfe.

Ignoring the area as it wasn't a trendy new place to move was a poor idea. Those folks pay the same tax rate as I do living in swanky Cinco Dinero. Somebody (somewhere) paid for a fancy-schmancy ICE SCULPTURE when my new elementary was dedicated this year. The foyer is decorated as pretty as a model home. I guess because my precious kids "deserve it."

From my understanding, folks in the Wolfe neighborhoods were part of the plan to build an IB school. They looked at closing it, remodeling the existing facility, or building a smaller scale 500 student school as well.

The folks that were directly impacted by what happens with Wolfe elementary were part of the decision making. Who are any of us to say 2 years later that we disagree with the plan? If we cared so much, we would have shown up to be part of the steering committee and came up with a solution... not a list of complaints after the fact. But as always, we parents in KISD only care when OUR CHILD is affected. What else happens in our district, we could care less (as a generalization, of course...)

I find it interesting that folks involved at Wolfe came up with a solution that wasn't ALL ABOUT THEM! Pretty rare to actually think about *other* families in KISD. Maybe the working class is "classier" than we give them credit for.

So this solution keeps an elementary school in their area. Yay. As a mom, (yes, descovy is 100% lady!) I can appreciate that. It really fosters a sense of community in your neighborhood too.

And it speaks to the new population in Katy... It acknowledges that (for better or worse) many of our newest neighbors today are just passing through. In two years they'll be off to Dubui, India, UK, Norway, etc., etc., As I said before, not everyone salivating over the IB curriculuum is doing it for the prestige or academic rigors. They are simply looking for continuity in their child's education as their career moves them all over the world.

Katy ISD is attracting these folks whether we like it or not! And it may not be close to all the fancy new MPC's BUT it is very close to their employment center... the energy corridor.

I am a product of a K-12 school. Nothing fancy... just a small town with an 8-man football team :) We were poor kids, sometimes "stupid" kids, but we never hurt the little ones by being in the same building. We did a lot of mentoring with the younger ones, and shared special activities. In this day and age, I'm a girl scout leader with "older girls" looking to mentor "younger girls" It's expected to be a win-win when we can get all ages together to accomplish the same goal.

I am probably not one that will enroll in the IB program. We're a typical suburban family here to stay. My girls are bright, well rounded, and are sufficiantly challenged in a "regular KISD classroom" But I wouldn't hesitate to enroll my kids in Wolfe's IB curriculuum if that were my neighborhood school.

Again, I think it is an innovative idea, one that solves one problem for them and gives extra opportunities for the rest of us. Anyone who feels that they had a better idea should have spoken up in 2008 during the Steering community... (or earlier before we let Wolfe fall apart in the first place) I'm sorry, but belly-aching now does not help those 400+ students at Wolfe... still attending class in a run-down-long-neglected facility. (All the while we put flat screen TV's and "smart boards" in the "pretty schools")

I agree with most of what you have posted. However there is more to the story.

Let me repeat, I am NOT against IB, I am against ignoring parts of our district and wasting money. When I use the term "wasting" I am ONLY asking the question, "Is this the best use for the dollar?" I don't know the answer, do you?

I attended the district's public roll out of this idea, and it was THIS school year, where members of the community were asked to participate and join the committee to determine IF we needed IB as part of a Wolfe survival plan. I volunteered as did other men and women to serve. I checked with three others who volunteered and not one of us got even a phone call thanking us for our interest.

KISD can't be all things to all people. I do not dispute your comments that the persons who will most benefit are those who will be in our district for only a short time. Are we supposed to undertake a long term financial commitment through bonds and ongoing expenses which we will pay year after year and be all that concerned about a very few folks who drop in for a year or two and then take their tax dollar elsewhere?

Going beyond the Wolfe discussion, I find countervailing beliefs, or for that matter any views not deemed in sync with some "key" players are discouraged. Some Katyites question procedure as well as substance as to how some of these ideas come into view or how a select few are pushed forward even as we ignore what for some are more pressing classroom needs.

Even at the Board level, how many 7-0 votes do we get even while the community is largely split on the underlying issue? Board members have told me they were pressured into going along when it was obvious the minority position was just that. Seems it is better to be in line than to let anyone suspect we are not in total agreement. Some "board watchers" marveled when Neal Howard broke ranks on the rezoning discussion and made it a 6-1 vote.

For some the Astro turf non discussion of a multimillion dollar unapproved expense was an example of arrogance as not a single public comment was allowed before the vote was taken. I still have the discussion about this item posted at: www.katyvote.com

I don't think it is asking too much for the Board to ADD the IB request along with its cost to this year's school board election ballot. If that idea ever sees the light of day, I have a few items I would like to submit for inclusion.

I am also a product of a K-12 education, and my children have attended 2 different K-12 schools. I agree with descovy that it can be a wonderful learning opportunity for all ages, and this type of campus also reduces the anxiety that comes with the move up to middle school or to high school

I know in the schools my sons attended, high school students spent time in elementary classroom, middle and elementary students frequently attended high school music, drama, and art events, and younger students got a kick out of seeing their older siblings and would wave as they walked past. The younger kids loved getting out of class for a little while to go cheer on the high schoolers during a track meet, and I loved seeing all the middle school students cheering on the elementary kid as they marched around the track for the annual Halloween Parade. And one of the most interesting "benefits" was watching high schoolers suddenly realize that their behavior while hanging out at lunch or on breaks(foul language, PDAs, etc) was being witnessed by the elementary students on the playground!

A for Mr. Raymond's comment - "I volunteered as did other men and women to serve. I checked with three others who volunteered and not one of us got even a phone call thanking us for our interest." - I right there with ya! I could not attend the meeting but sent an email volunteering to serve on the committee, outlining my experience with the IB program, and noting that I had no personal "agenda" because my children would be in college before anything was implemented. And I did not even get the courtesy of a reply thanking me for my interest.

And that - unfortunately - made me question the motives of the district administration. It seemed to me that if they were really interested in community input, then I would have at least gotten a "thanks but no thank" reply.

81elcamino wrote:

if wolfe elementary is the one i'm thinking of, it is located east of highway 6. that is almost 20 miles from katy so that is 40 miles round trip and that doesn't count the number of buses that will be needed and/or the routes to be used. raines high school is more centrally located and has room to expand, just a thought.

81elcamino - YOU are correct about the location of Wolfe. If you go back to the original stories, the idea for an IB program was the answer for what to specifically do with the aging Wolfe campus. The school needed renovation and new life but the elementary population is low (about 450). So the district was looking for a way to accommodate those students in their own neighborhood and create a new advanced learning academy as well. The idea of an IB program at Wolfe was born and a committee began studying the options. I agree that a central location for such a school would be ideal but then what happens to Wolfe?

I suppose we could just give Wolfe some sticks and bricks and say... "Here, build a school for 500. And then we don't want to hear a peep from you for next 40 years." So many folks who live in Katy ISD don't know/don't care/ flat out ignore that our boundries stretch out that far.

The more I think about it, and try to put myself in the shoes of a Wolfe parent/neighbor, I see another reason why they'd want an IB school that serves students district-wide. We could no longer ignore them... as in taking their tax money and pretending they don't exist... or they aren't "really Katy." Whatever that means... most of KISD isn't "really Katy."

descovy -- good points and there are several Wolfe parents on the committee - who have been a part of the decision-making process. A more complete and final report on the progress of the IB program is expected to come at the April school board workstudy meeting. If any of you are interested - please come on out and listen to Marcy Canady's presentation.

One board member told me weeks ago this was a "done deal." If true we will only be witnessing the finishing touches of a "put up deal."

I refer you to the final lines of neworleanslady's comments about the sincerity of the committee and Board. Hard to imagine holding a meeting, asking folks to turn out, telling them the district really needs your help and values all the input possible and we know of at least four persons who volunteered and none got any response. What are the odds?

Just wondering says - One board member told me weeks ago this was a "done deal." If true we will only be witnessing the finishing touches of a "put up deal."

I have heard similar comments. And as much as I like the IB program, this kind of attitude frustrates and scares me. I do have confidence that the committee is working hard, identifying all the issues that need to be addressed, and focusing on ways to make it all work. But what a waste of time it would be on the part of the committee members if - as far as the administration/board is concerned - the decision has already been made.

I would like to see KISD add an IB school (as a magnet school), but I don't want to see it pushed thru just because some folks in the administration want it. Although I guess getting an IB school established would look good on a resume!

Westside, you are correct.

I too have traveled the road of doing all I could to work within the system and it has created problems for more than one family member. For another two years I have a family member who is worried about what might happen to him/her as he/she says, "I have to work with these people."

After that I have to determine how fired up I am and if nothing has changed I look forward to a new kind of school board election and campaign.

I have recently begun following these blogs and find I agree with what I read and when I couple it with first hand information and experience I conclude we are an outstanding school district IN SPITE of our board.

This up coming bond election will be a test of how the Board treats taxpayers. We KNOW we need another high school. We must address the Wolfe issue, but reserve the right not to embrace an IB palace.. Our Board of Trustees if true to the past will ask for those "must have items" and then load in all the pork they can carry. If you disagree with the "pork" you are anti student, family, America, Christ, etc.

I know PTA presidents who felt their duties extended to things other than the well being of their campus and used their "PTA press pass" to stir outright lies and distortions incumbents have spread about those who would dare make a run at "THEIR" seat on the BOT. Ask these same drones if it is possible for a non administration, non board person to have a good idea or make a comment not chanting the party line without being demeaned in the process and you will find it is not. (I have a lifetime PTA membership and have served as president more than once. I have sat with and listened to these misguided folks. Oddly the Katy Council of PTAs will never sponsor a candidate forum. If not the PTA, who should do this? Most of these school lay leaders, don't know there is an annual BOT election!)

While I have no problem with any person on the board as an individual, I am increasingly convinced they are incompetent at best are more concerned with listening to whatever the superintendent has to say and the sound of their own voices. I will attend the great debates and hope many folks do and maybe insist on getting a few good questions in the line up and then hold them accountable for their replies. I hope the press will ask the tough questions for a change and follow up when the question is dodged. We need a more aggressive press not so inclined to sugar coat items and be willing to press hard. If we had more intense press coverage, I believe some of these "place holders" would have vanished long ago.

I definitely plan on attending the meeting when the final proposal is made.

As I've said - I am in support of an IB school within KISD. I think it would be good for both the district and the students who opt to pursue the IB program. I just want it to be done for the right reasons, with a thorough analysis of the various issues, and with full disclosure to the taxpayers regarding costs and expectations.

If one has done his research, one would understand what the push to have a United Nations school is all about. Go to www.truthboutIB.com to see some of the pitfalls of this program(me).

The argument previously mentioned regarding the purposes of oil company employees who move in and out of this school district is on the mark. The rest of us who will get stuck with the tax bill are suckers for allowing them to direct the agenda. Making life easy for those people is not something that the rest of us should have to fund.

My main objection is that this will be a United Nations school, created for the express purpose of indoctrinating young minds. If one is big into pledging allegiance to the planet (instead of the American flag), then I suppose this is your bag.

Go to the UN websites and read for yourself in their own words what this is about: www.ibo.org and www.unesco.org (and click on the Education tab).

There are lots of IB schools all over the place. The ruse that this is something special for Katy ISD is just that. Lamar High School in HISD has been an IB school since 1982. Since then, in twenty five years, only 601 students have completed the program. That's not very many, and as mentioned before, the program is not intellectually challenging like the AP program to which it is often erroneously compared, it's just a lot of busywork that takes time away from your children's normal lives in order to complete.

I've never met a former IB student who wasn't impressed with himself for being an IB student, which fact tells me that the brainwashing component works!

The United Nations is about globalism, one world government, global warming, totalitarianism and all that other nonsense. I guess if one has fallen for that stuff, it's pretty easy to be snowed by the prospect of having a United Nations school in our midst. I guess one could also say that this is what President Obama would want us to do as it fits in quite well with his Progressivist agenda.

My only practical solution to the problem is to require the parents of students in the program to personally pick up the tab for whatever excess expenditures are required (and they are huge) to pay for their child to be brainwashed. Otherwise, the rest of us get to pay, and money that could have been spent in much better ways on the academic education of all our children is wasted.

And don't forget, once we've got this monster in our midst, it's VERY difficult to get rid of it.

Mary McGarr - Do you have any personal experience with the IB program? Or is all your information based on that website?

I don't know what Mary knows, but I suspect about 99.9% of KISD parents have no experience with IB so naturally we are wondering if we are being sold a bill of goods or if this is the best thing since sliced bread.

The question is further complicated as we don't know if we are talking about it because we can't figure out what to do with Wolfe Elementary school, or if we feel a need to provide this service to our international traveling friends who will be here a year or two and then off to points unknown? Either argument seems really, really thin to me when talking about millions of dollars and again I ask the question, "Is the best use for our dollar at this time?"

I got a call today from an ex SLHS counselor who transferred out of state, not about IB, but when I visited the web site for her new high school I was struck with the grading system. An "A" in an academic or dual credit course is worth 4 points, an "A" in AP is worth 5 points, but an "A" in IB is worth 6 points. I have not talked to her about this and wonder if IB is so much harder than AP or if this is the bribe they need to get a student to take the class?

I wonder if KISD has any thoughts about this grading and if so, does this mean the competition to be in the top ten percent of a graduating class will be shifted as a result? Will KISD future seniors have a 5.4 GPA, skip taking an AP class or two to protect class standing, and still not be in the top ten percent as they apply to colleges and scholarship committees. When does it end and when do we say we need to turn our attention to educating 99% of our students even as we discuss the disparity between north and south of I-10 schools?

I guess if the budget does not matter we can open a international culinary school or two? I still have not heard why we NEED an IB school when so many other items are slighted for lack of funding? I mention early reading intervention programs or the gang and drug program which seems to have died off when Nancy Stiles left the district due to lack of funding as another. I am sure others can add to the list.

The state of Texas considers IB and AP classes the the same way - both are worth 5 points for an A. Same (at least for now) for pre-AP and pre-IB classes.

Regarding the "need" for the IB school, I suspect that a great deal of the push is coming from the success of Westchester Academy for International Studies (Spring Branch ISD), which evidently has a waiting list to get in. And I know of families who chose to live in the Spring Branch district (rather than Katy) because of WAIS.

Wonderful news, there is a waiting line to get into a school in SBISD. If we follow this logic and assume that is a valid reason for us to follow suit and build an IB school, why build it on HWY 6 as far away as possible from the KISD population base?

It just seems so much of the discussion I have heard, (not on this site) leads me to believe we are taking the "any port in a strom" approach to this problem we have at Wolfe. So again I ask the question, "Is this the best use for a tax dollar in this economy even as other items are shoved aside due to budget considerations?"

Will someone please tell me why IB should superced other considerations. Please don't try to cloak it in terms of "saving Wolfe" as we can build a school there without an IB program for less than a K-12 IB program which is supposed to house all the actual Wolfe attendance zone folks PLUS the others we bus in. We also will save money on fees and special IB on-going training for all involved. It just seems more and more this is a "keeping up with the Jones" item.

Mercy me I forgot, must be getting old. Isn't the Asst. Superintendent charged with the current IB discussion our most recent ESC transpant from Spring Branch ISD?

Could this have anything to do with this effort to save Wolfe via IB?

As I have said, I like the IB program. And I think it would be good for Katy ISD to have one (as a magnet school).

But.....is this the right time and is Wolfe the right location? I really don't know. I haven't been here long enough to know the ins and outs of the Katy ISD politics, and both my children will be off in college soon.

My children benefited from the years spent in an IB school, and from what I have seen of AP classes - I believe that IB classes are a bit better - especially at developing writing and critical thinking skills. My children agree. But, AP exams are better known among colleges and that gives AP an advantage in the college credit game (if you choose AP for that reason). But....IB is making major inroads.

As for the administration's prior position with SB ISD...... ;)

To Mary McGarr's ongoing commentary, what she refers to as 'all that other nonsense' is rather ironic given the broader goal of schools as learning institutions.

I would rather proceeed under the assumption that any alternate point of view is a benefit if it challenges the status-quo. The outcome can be one of two things : (1) the status-quo changes to accomodate some or all of the alternate viewpoint, or (2) the status-quo remains unchanged. The latter can mean that there is no reason to change the status-quo, or rather there was never an ear to understand the other viewpoint. This is what I see in much of her narrative.

It's education, which on the basis of naivite and all-things-being-equal, gives children that ability to decide for themselves. We deliver the curriculum; they take from it what they will. It has no bias. I'm suspect that if one were to ask the recipients of an IB Curriculum whether they feel as if they hate America; whether, if they lived in Katy, they would rather see their tax dollars go the Hague rather than to KISD; whether they feel as condescending about AP and GT as their proponents about IB; the answer would be no.

Given any fact, there are those that see the glass as half empty, those that see it as half full. I will not state my own position, but I will (somewhat transparently) say that it is discouraging seeing so many complaints on this post. A tax dollar is a tax dollar, and it serves the whole district. Do those tax payers whose children do not go to Cinco Ranch High School, or whose kids cannot enter the bilingual education programn, or whose kids do not have the opportunity to attend a magnet school, complain? Probably, and I would find their arguments equally weak and without merit. All people cannot have all things. However, some people within KISD can have something new which presents an alternative that appeals to at least a portion of the district.

To deny the project forard momentum based upon perception of hidden costs, is flawed. To isolate one thing with no adequate comparison is a fundamentally poor argument related to throwing darts just because one can. If one intends to disarm the process by means of this argument, then comparison would need to made to other pioneer projects in the district. For example, transportation, on which there are many comments. To argue for / against transportation would seem to require knoweldge of the current transportation system, it's costs, challenges, pros and cons, etc. Perhaps those who are making comments do know these figures; I do not. Am I to assume implicit that those costs are acceptable? Would they be targeted as burdensome if any particular new school were to be built, or revision to existing program be made?

Ironically, I think there is no need to argue against Ms. McGarr, as she seems to illustrate her lack of perspective by her own arguments. They smell of myopia and out-moded nationalism rather than the educational base on which she claims to stand.