I Get Ugly With the Buna ISD This Morning.......

 I seriously had not planned to even try and think about the Buna Public Schools for a few days this morning. 

But yesterday my messages " lit up" with this text from the Buna ISD.....

In it included the following-

And it seems to have been in  the form of a " Papal Bull " from administration-

Included was the commands-

- Band and auxiliaries will no longer be able to take the 3rd quarter off to visit the concession stands. Members will be provided a meal before the game, and parents can no longer bring food or drink to their students. However, students can bring snacks if they feel they may be hungry during the game.

- Passes will be used when students need to use the restroom. Only 2 at a time.

-At home games, the band and auxiliary will be roped off not to allow people in and out.

 And it goes on.......

Charles R. Smith the Band Director at Vidor, who was the hardest, hard-ass there was in my educational career, made me look like a sissy teaching y'all, allowed us a 3rd quarter break when I was at Vidor High. 

It never caused a commotion. 

In college, we got a break after half. ( But in college in the 1970s, band members used tobacco products in the band section, and this writer may have or may not have had a pipe with old fashion Sir Walter Raleigh pipe tobacco in the baritone section.)

All I could think we was, " Let's micromanage the hell out the fun band kids might think about having."  

Trust me, this would be just a start.  More rules are coming....Or would be-

Okay, time to get ugly-

The " Papal Bull" sounds like some malarkey some former Jock or Jockett has come up with. 

They think that the only and the most important extra-curriculars are something from the athletic department.....They literally look at the band, choir, art, CTE( Blog on this tomorrow) and UIL Academics as somehow second class extra-curriculars.  Do not tell me otherwise. 

I saw it firsthand for 30+ years. 

Buna Schools had a Supt. of Schools who did everything he could to kill UIL Academics when I was there. Never mind we were sending massive numbers of kids to regional and were winning at State in Austin in several of the contests. 

The sorry piece of manure called our overnight trips to Region and State a " Vacation" for the teachers. Do you know what it is like to keep 40+ kids from getting into trouble on a trip? Making trips to CVS Drug at 2:30AM because a student had forgotten feminine products?  Or keeping male and female students from sneaking into each others rooms at 1AM? Or getting up at 4:30AM to get kids to their contest for a 6AM contest? 

They don't know, or care how many hours these kids put into their contests....Months of work. One year, in a contest, kids had to read a 700 page book on the Belgian Colonization of the Congo.....That was just to start learning what was coming for the contest....Just start. That is just one team, one contest.  

Do you know how many hours some of these band kids have practiced a trumpet or flute, or the drums?....And that is before they even marched a step.  

And trust me, Core Teachers, Math, Science, English, History at other high schools judge how serious a school is with their academics, by how well their UIL Academic Teams do at contest. Do not do squat at contest and they know, the kids in that high school ain't learning nuthin'. It's a heck of a gauge.  

This may shock some of you reading this, but getting an education is what school is supposed to be about. More kids get full academic scholarships than sports scholarships, by a long shot....Including, my son. We did not pay a nickel for his university education. 

So, apparently someone, I am guessing parents threw enough of a fit by the end of the day, the band had the 3rd quarter off again....

And Buna ISD patrons, I am going to get really ugly here, and not all members of the profession are this way, as many had kids in band, UIL, etc.....And they " get it." 

How many members of your present school board were at one time or another called " Coach?"  

 

Pay Attention to What is Going On......

 I have spoken about this in past blogs. 

And I really do not know how to put this. 

Things are going to get bad. Don't put your head in the sand and hope for the best. It might be time to get ready. 

Gas and especially diesel is going to keep getting higher in prices. I am sorry, but the fuel market is being manipulated right now, as is the stock market.  At some point manipulation is not going to work and everything is going to crash. 

Inflation is going to spiral. I am hoping it won't be like Wiemar Germany after World War 1  in which millions of Marks were needed to equal a dollar, businesses were paying their workers each day, before they worked so they could go to the store to make purchases before the prices went up 2 time, 3 times, sometimes 20+ times before noon.  

If there is anything you need, you may want to buy it now, and do not wait. 

The interest rate on homes is already looking at around 7.5% and if the Fed increases its rate in the November meeting, and they are expected, they may be well over 8, perhaps 9%.  And increase from there in 2027. 

You may want to buy a few extra canned good at the grocery. Beans, canned meats, canned potatoes. Dry good likes flour, dry beans, rice...If you are not already doing so, you may look at planting a garden with foodstuff that you can live on, not just fun stuff like peppers.....You may need to plant rows of things like Purple Hull peas. Corn, sweet potatoes and learn to can. 

My 96 year old mom was discussing the Great Depression and how they literally survived on peas, cornbread and  a little salt pork. She pondered if we are going there once again. We longing for the days when we had a steak. She sees it coming....

Now, I love Purple Hull, Cream, Crowder peas, but every day, they get old. 

I do not think you know how many farmers are on the verge of bankruptcy? And if there is now only corporate farms, what keeps them from making production low to keep profits high? A CEO on Wall Street doesn't give a damn that your kids are hungry. 

I am hoping I am way off here and some folks will get all over me for saying this, but I wonder if the church is prepared for this. Rather than build giant mausoleums to themselves, how are they helping people in the community? So often they are more concerned with what color carpet there is in the foyer, or building a new gym so we can play basketball. I do not remember Jesus playing point-guard for the Nazareth Fish-eaters......

 Then we have how many nations in this Iran Conflict who have nuclear weapons? How long before one of them decided to use one or two trying to win the war? And what keeps everyone else from using one once that Pandora's Box is opened? And what if Russia decides, lets end our war and lights-up Kiev?  

The US Bond market is a mess. We are to the point the United States is not collecting enough revenue to pay our debt. And fighting a war that appears to be never ending is accelerating this economic situation.  

I know some of you are saying...." Man, Thomas is all paranoid this morning...." 

Yes sir, yes ma'am, I am. 

The math on the economy ain't mathing, and you are not being told the entire truth, and it isn't good.  

If you are a praying person , now is the time to do so....I know for a while now I've been leading off my morning prayers talking to Jesus about it.  

   

 

 

Teachers at Buna Schools

 I hear fairly often from Buna teachers. Many times through back channels. 

Often, they are afraid that the administration will know it is them talking to me, and sometimes, all information they send me is deleted by the sender. 

And I can't say that I blame them. 

Trust me, I understand. 

It is the old phrase as one told me....

"Too many chiefs and not enough Indians." There are people who have been advanced so much, they are looking for things to do. 

So, we get micromanagement. 

If you are a teacher worth anything, you are looking for another school to work. Or, in many cases, some of the best and brightest have, " Gotten the Hell out of Dodge> " As one person who is looking to leave told me. 

Of course, this is not everyone on staff, but it is enough that people are wondering what they are doing even in education. 

I know Kerry Don Thomas would be out of Buna in 2026. The district has changed so much that I could not stand the micromanagement. I could not be the Mr. Thomas many of you had in class.

Old Kerry had a hard enough time hanging around when I reached retirement eligibility. I almost quit.....Several times my last semester.  Including me calling Teacher Retirement the Friday during Spring Break and almost pulled the trigger and retired in March. 

I'm afraid I would be teaching certain people new  combinations of adjectives, nouns, adverbs....As I walked out the door. 

But, I could not do it. Mostly because I liked the seniors I had that year.  

As I have told many times before, I was in a meeting with several teachers, administrators when one teacher's cell phone buzzes and the instructor gets up and says, " I must take this call." And they step into the hallway. About 5 minutes later, the teacher sticks their head back into the room, and says, " That was Teacher Retirement, they said I can retire." They leave, don't even go back to their classroom and gather their personal items, instead, they go, get into their car, and go home.  

True story. 

Teachers, I don't know what your situation is, but if you can change districts, and you are miserable, look for that change of scenery. I know I have in the past.  

I couldn't work in Buna ISD today.  

 

 

If You Plan to Vote

 No, I DO NOT openly support any political candidate, except for my brother........And even then I question it....

But this is serious. 

Double check and make sure you are still registered to vote in Texas. 1.2 million people were purged off the rolls this year. 

It is the top left button.  

If you find you have been purged, click on the middle top button to register to vote. 

The last day to register to vote in this year's November elections. Is, October 5th.  

And We Have Stories from Buna ISD.....Broke? Quitting? " Runt Off?" Going Down?

 I had not planned to blog today, but you never know what might happen?

Again, I appreciate the information that I receive.  

The first story coming from people deciding that they are not going to put up with the school not following the rules. 

For years now teachers have had free lunch time. It is state law. I can remember when we faculty members had to do it. I even remember the time when I did lunch duty and well, you really can't sit down and eat. You generally have to stand and watch what was going on. And even then, there is some commotion that occurs and you have to handle it, and well, at the end of the lunch, you still have half a sandwich, all your Cheetos and a drink still unfinished. 

I've tossed more sandwiches than you know, and just saved the unopened bag of Cheetos for Tuesday. And it probably remained unopened then. 

It is alleged one of the coaches was given permanent lunch duty,  and was told to eat their lunch during the class. 

They resigned and went home. 

I can't say I blame them. 

I remember two years before I retired, I was assigned lunch duty, for all year, but I was given an extra conference period for doing so. And that's the way it should be. 

My understand is parents are upset with him leaving. Not with him, but the higher ups. It seems the man knew what he was doing and previously had gone to state. 

Then, there is the rumor of a number of coach, faculty, administration, others planning to leave at the Christmas semester break. Several others are wondering if they can make it to the end of May?

One person told me, " I can't believe I came here......" 

As one person at the school called it....." It's a shit show." 

- Second story comes from the Culinary Class. 

It seems that there was not enough funding for the kids to be able to practice cooking and supposedly, the kids were working on a computer Monday through Thursday, and were being allowed to actually cook on Friday, if they brought in the food themselves. 

The district was allegedly too poor to fund the program.   

Alas, a local church has come to the rescue and has given food to the class, so they can actually take the class. 

My question is this, did the food donated take away from the local food pantry? I know a person involved with a pantry at their church and people coming to it has increased 40% in the last 5 months. That is here in Orange County. Again, a sign of inflation and the economy. Some folks are just barely making it. 

- Finally, someone wondered if Buna athletics, academic team, with kids leaving, might go down to UIL 3A Division II next realignment cycle.  It would be hard pressed to do so, but I did not think both Vidor and Little Cypress-Mauriceville would move down either, and they did. ( Harvey contributed to both)

Realignment is in 2028, and that is a long time......Just think, that means you'd get a good old fashion ass-whopping from Newton every year if you were to move down..... 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, Buna, We Are Going There....

 Again, we want to welcome the readers at the Buna ISD Administration Building.......Or any Buna ISD administrator. 

And please, do not act like you are not reading. We know you are slipping around and are taking a peek......

It seems like every quarter I have to write this blog. 

I've had a number of people subscribe to the Substack.....And to be honest, I have not a clue who they might be. Most, I know, but others, not a clue, and I can't place them.  

So, we go over the blog, as some people still do not understand what I am doing here.  

Once again, I have a special concern with the Buna Independent School District, as I was the government/economics teacher at the high school for many years, now retired, and when I started the blog right at 16 years ago now,  and the blog while it started as a general, whatever blog, has more and more emerged into a blog concerning local issues. Especially the school.... 

 That said, I may write on anything and everything......Economics, politics, British Politics( British Politics is somewhat a hobby and pride myself as being able to discuss politics of their nation in a pub in the UK with old guys, after a pint or 5 of good British ale. And have done so....) history, religion, heck, I may write one on men's haberdashery.  

Welcome to the blog. 

Be careful, I have gotten better, but I can get a bit " salty" at times. I now have 3 clergy reading the blog regularly, that I know of. And even though I am an alumni of the Baptist seminary in Ft. Worth, and am still in good standing with a denomination with ties to Presbyterianism and the Church of Scotland, I have a hard time with organized religion. But, I try not to cuss too much and run them totally off.  

If at any time you would like to look at a story concerning local politics, especially the school, let me know. Send me the particulars, and I will look into the situation and well, probably will blog on the situation. 

Any information I receive will remain confidential. I never name names and often try to write the blog as to not implicate my sources. 

Thank you for reading and please subscribe to my Substack.  

 

 

 

The Clique and Buna Schools? Part 2

 I sometimes get information from people, well, I never suspect or expect to contact me. And this happened yesterday while I was trying to watch both the Texans and the Cowboys prove once again, neither is going to the Super Bowl this season./ 

I guess I need to go ahead and switch and quit American football, and switch to watching the football(Soccer for the uneducated) leagues out of the UK. I am pretty much there now, and on Sunday afternoon, catch a little nap....

But, that's neither here nor there.....

Yesterday, minding my own business, I receive a phone call during the game. And normally with strange phone numbers, I assume it is SPAM and ignore. This one had a 994 exchange, what is or was a landline in Buna, TX. 

My first thought was, " In 2026, who still has a landline?" ( My 95 year old mom has a cell phone.) 

And I answer.

This person is someone I would consider, well, " close to be in the clique." At least, they know some people. 

I thought I was going to get jumped on and chewed out......No, they did not.....

They were basically confirming something that I had heard earlier.  

It seems a number of individuals within the "Clique" are not happy with what is going on with Buna ISD leadership. 

The problems, they are stuck. Be it to save face, or economics( Everything boils down to money, more than you know.) or just what, they are saying, and is according to yesterday's source, " We have to figure out a way to ride this out." 

They are upset with the number of people leaving the school, and they know that the district is hemorrhaging kids.  

And here is a kicker, some in the clique are happy kids are leaving, " get rid of undesirables"  " keep the district small." 

While others are upset wanting Buna to grow, hoping to make a profit from it. 

Yeah, you are getting a Waffle House and I am not lying, I want to go about 3AM  on Saturday to WH, get some Pecan Waffles, some bacon, perhaps sausage,  and hope for a show. 

But people do not move to a community because you now have a Waffle House.  

Believe it or not, people sometimes move in due to the school district and if it is any good. 

And while there is disagreement, they actually are upset, both sides, pro-growth, anti-growth with the school district.....As the caller yesterday said.....

" The district just isn't the same place it was not that long ago...."