I Got to Get the Hell Outta Dodge City....Or in This Case Buna Schools....

Side Note- For the fans of the TV Show Outlander-  Today is the 380th anniversary of the Battle of Culloden in Scotland-

It took place April 16, 1646 near the city of Inverness, Scotland.  Jacobite forces under Prince Charles Edward Stuart/Stewart ( Bonnie Prince Charles) fought again the English army-  Taking place on Drummossie Moor near Inverness, the battle lasted less than an hour but resulted in a decisive victory for the British/English government forces over the Jacobite army. This defeat effectively ended the Stuart claim to the British throne and led to the permanent decline of the Scottish clan system.

We visited the battle site a few years ago. The Scottish Trust has done the battlefield up right. A well done museum, and a well done restored, large area, where the battle took place. 

If you ever find yourself in Inverness, ( a great airport, wonderful people) you must visit the battle site.  

But I once again digress. ( I love me some English/Scottish History)

- Well, it seems that once again, Buna is having a difficult time keeping faculty/ staff employed by the district. 

As I eluded to in a previous publication on this blog, it seems there is a number of employees within the maintenance department at Buna ISD either resigning, or actively looking for employment elsewhere.  Including supposedly the director. 

Word is, lack of money, and loss of overtime, school leadership is driving the employees to quit and find work elsewhere.  

And as I have said, maintenance, cafeteria, janitorial are the backbone of any school district.  Without them, the whole thing collapses. 

And, then, there is the story going around that the district KNOWS OF 21 members of faculty leaving at the end of the year. 

21. 

That they know of. 

How many will either resign at the end of the year, or during that grace period in the Summer Break? 

Note to teachers thinking about resigning, wait until the last minute. I worked at a school district who dropped our health insurance as soon as we resigned. And it was several months before the new district, employer picked up their/our insurance.  I worked with a teacher who resigned from a district near Corpus Christi whose ISD dropped him as soon as he resigned the last day of school, in May, and before his new school district coverage started in September. In June, his son broke his leg requiring several surgeries to repair. I know Magnolia ISD did that to me when I resigned at the end of the school year. 

Remember, it is a job folks. They are are NOT family.  

That number according to rumors might increase up to between 35 to 50. 

Perhaps even more? 

For a a small 3A school district, that is a lot of folks hitting the road. 

Several have been ruined by teaching in the Buna Independent School District and are totally leaving the school business. As one has been telling anyone who will listen, " If any are anywhere near like the Buna ISD, I cannot do this for 30+ years." 

And the Buna community needs to start asking......" Why???"

- Next blog- Teacher certification in the Buna ISD, or lack there or, those who ARE certified teaching outside of their certification.... Is there " fudging" going on?

 

 

Is It Time Buna ISD?

 When, I was hired by the Buna ISD back in the day, I knew very little about the school. 

I needed a job, and I was offered what was back in the day, a " Plum Position." The Gov/Eco job. And either you are cut out, made if you will to teach seniors, or you are not. 

I made sure, it was where I was supposed to be. 

I literally and I've said this many times before, expect Buna to be a short stop on my career. I literally did not expect to remain there most of my teaching profession. 

Buna should have let me go more than once.....I should have left Buna on my own, more than once. 

There were a number of us who worked hard to make Buna a good high school. 

I wanted you to be able to be the best wherever you went next in your life. 

When I retired, I felt good about what I left at Buna High School. I felt good about all the district K-12. I bragged about the school. Recommended it to people. 

As I have said recently, I no longer do. 

It is and I clean up my language here, it is a mess. 

Old names from the community are leaving, or they are moving their children to other school districts. Heck, I even tell people to homeschool their kids. 

There will be people who will send me ugly notes saying that I am too negative about the district. 

But, from where I sit, I see and hear nothing but negativity. 

Unless you are from here, teachers do not want to teach in Buna ISD. And say what you will, and this may sound ugly, it limits the intellectual ability of the district. It limits the talent of the school district. I am sorry, if just does. 

I did a count of the number of people teaching in the district that I taught and I was somewhat shocked at how many teachers I taught....And while it is good they want to teach in their home school, well, sometimes you need new blood. And part of it is, if you suck as a teacher, and you are from the community, well, it is harder to get rid of you. 

Now, I am not saying you need to get rid of everyone from here, but this hiring friends of friends, especially those without the correct certification, well, it has to end.  I know people who have applied with the correct certification, who were passed over for friends, without certification. 

I am going to writing this and take a few days off. 

It could be time to just " burn it all down" and start over. 

New administration. New school board. Get rid of teachers who either don't have a certification or can't get the correct certification. 

My understanding is maintenance is losing leaders, workers, and those still there are looking to get out. I do not think many of you understand how important maintenance, cafeteria, janitorial  are to a school district. Without them, the whole place will fall apart. In more ways than you know....

I don't know what it will cost Buna ISD, but you may need to bite the bullet and just "clean house." Already there are serious patron questioning where the money is going. What do some of these people hired actually do? If so, BISD had a $2.5 million surplus last year, are you making sure that you are burning any surplus this year? 

Unless the community gets serious, I am afraid it is going to get worse....... 

 

 

 

  

( Edit)-Buna , Like Everyplace Else, It's Not What You Know, It's Who You Know.....

"Time changes everything, except something within us, which is always surprised by change." 

- Thomas Hardy 

If you ever read any of Hardy's works, so much is based on unhappiness and suffering based on many societal items, including education, ......You know, sort of like today. 

And in truth, we should not be shocked by changed.....

In the last 48 hours, I have learned of the following concerning the Buna ISD and "new" alleged administrative change. 

It seems the " clique" is alive and well. 

The principal at Buna High it seems supposedly has been offered a new position at Region V. 

Ask the average teacher what the Region Service Centers do, and other than bore us to death in in-service meetings at the start of school, the only thing I can tell you that they do is collect big checks. 

I know there will be be people who disagree, but seriously, why should I listen to someone tell me about teaching who has not taught in an actual classroom in 20-25 years?  

The Buna Junior High Principal is proposed to be the new high school principal. ( EDIT-Rumor now is, they do not want the position.)

Do a little research and follow who you know in all of this....

In the end, the school board will just " rubber stamp" the move......I had a Buna ISD patron write me and say this about the board...." As useless as tits on a boar hog."  

Meanwhile, some of the longtime Buna teachers, many of the best,  are interviewing with other districts. 

And I do not blame them for doing so....Sometimes, enough is enough....  

Buna is Now Nepotism on Steroids?

 “Everybody is against nepotism until it is their turn.” 

-  Shon Mehta

I will confess, Buna ISD hired me, not because of my qualification, but because I was an alumni of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary......

In reality, I think they were getting someone else, and well, they got me, and say what you want, I am bit of a " Different type of Cat" as the jazz musicians would say.....My family will tell you that Kerry Don is " Different." 

And, I am not going to lie, at times, I feel sort of funny, like I had misrepresented myself, but then again, once again, I feel that certain things are foreordained. 

I have been told by multiple sources that Buna Schools is allegedly about to go through a " Fruit Basket Turn Over" at the building administrator level.   

Already, at the elementary school, the asst. principal is leaving the position at the end of the year.  The principal has been reassigned to a K-2 Literary Expert position, as I have said, I need me one of them expert jobs....Victorian Literature, Tudor-Stuart/Stewart History, something like that..... 

So, I was told, and again, this is supposedly to occur, the high school principal is to be moved to the elementary position of principal. 

So, this then leaves an opening at the high school and again, I was told they are planning to move the junior high principal into that position....If that occurs, I plan to write a blog specifically to that new high school administrator. 

There is also a rumor that there will be an outside the district person move into the elementary principal's position. 

One of my sources said, " I would not mind if all the administrators went away and we just started over."  " And I am not the only one." As I have said previously, morale at the Buna Schools, well, it could be better. 

Another said, " We just recycle friends and friends of friends."

The old adage : "It's not what you know, it is who you know."  

As one person said, " Things are about to get interesting."  

 

Tuesday Thoughts, and I Wish I Had Some Breakfast Tacos....

 "You Cannot find Peace by Avoiding Life....."

-Virginia Woolfe 

My back was screaming at me, so, I got up and started researching real estate in Scotland. Dad-gum almost called a real estate agent at 3am concerning a 2 bedroom freehold flat for sale on the east to northeast coast of Scotland. ( 3am here is 9am there, so they should be open..)  But do I want to leave this house, and actually move to Scotland? ( I then found a converted church to a residence,and started doing the math on if we could afford it....It's in the Border Counties, and I literally could see Deb and myself there. )

I'd love to move there, but I am no longer a " Spring Chicken."( And I do like where I live right now. I'm an Orange County boy, and only someone like me loves living here, and I do love it.)

I am just avoiding the obvious this morning. 

The last month-plus, I have watched several hours each day of the war. Me, trying to figure out how the US is going to get out of " another fine mess we've gotten ourselves into" if I may quote Oliver Hardy. 

And I wonder if we will attack the Iranian's infrastructure after today's 8pm ET deadline, or if the target time will somehow be pushed back once again?  

I am worried about our boys and girls that are in the military over there. At some point, somebody is going to be taken as a Prisoner of War, if there has not already been one, but they are not telling us. 

I also wonder what type of fresh hell the economy will hold for us, once the true effects of the Persian Gulf being closed will have? $5 gasoline here in SETX?  

What shortages will there be? 

Will there be panic shopping at the stores? 

How many people will lose their jobs?

I wonder if we are due a depression, not just a recession? We are coming up on 100 years since we went into a depression in 1929, so, we in economic time-frames, we are due.  Past due....

Then, and I hold my breath, will Israel or the US decide to use tactical nukes? If that happens, all bets are off....And that got me looking at real estate in the UK, and the Daily Star a British newspaper is saying Kent in England is the safest place for a nuclear war...... I looked at a map and decided it  was too close to London, what are they considering? 

I'll write a better blog later this week. Sometimes, I hop the rails and let my mind worry too much.... 

 

Panic at Buna ISD?

 For those of you who either do not have kids in school, or your kids have not said a word, the STAAR Exams occur all over the State of Texas for the next 3 weeks. 

-April 5-17 

Grades 3-8 Reading Language Arts

English I 

English II

-April 13-24

Grade 5 Science

Grade 8 Science

Grade 8 Social Studies

Biology

US History

-April 20-May1

Grades 3-8 Math

Algebra I

After the last year's scores, you can rest assure the pressure is on the teachers who teach these subjects, and really on the administration, especially after the "Letter Grade" the school district received from the state.  

Not really a testing fan and always with these exams, follow the money.....I also question some of the accuracy. I know I found a discrepancy on the old World History state exam, concerning Chinese History, checked with my China expert and she told me that 3 of the answers were correct. And of course on the test, there was only one correct answer. 

And of course, as I have written about previously, I almost called it a career and retired rather than have to deal with the testing. 

I hope the kids do well. I really do for their sakes. 

That said, I wonder if the kids actually learned anything, other than how to take a test in many of the courses? 

I am interested to see if the district letter grade improves..... I wonder how much panic there is in the administration?

 

 

 

ISIS Going to Blow up my Church Here in Buna???????

 So, there has been a threat by ISIS to blow-up, attack, shoot up East Texas churches. 

As a matter of fact several sheriff's offices have issued warnings about the threats made by ISIS. 

Do I think ISIS will attack a church? 

No. 

I would be more afraid of other people attacking churches rather than ISIS.

ISIS is a Sunni jihadist organization, specifically following an extreme interpretation of the Salafi branch of Sunni Islam....(Salafism is very conservative, that seeks to return to the practices of the first three generations of Muslims ("pious ancestors"). It emphasizes strict monotheism, rejects religious innovations (bid'ah), and rejects traditional legal school (madhhab) adherence in favor of direct scriptural interpretation. 

. They are not Shia Muslims and view Shiites as apostates, heretics, targeting them for violence, while also attacking Sunni Muslims who do not share their extremist ideology

 Iran is of Shia faith. I would be more afraid of a Shia Iran lead group than a Sunni group. We are bombing the Shias in Iran, not the Sunnis. 

I would  be more afraid of some local nut-job either a racist or a person with a bone to pick with the Baptists, or Methodists, Catholics, etc and that sadly, in 2026, it is a concern for every Sunday, Wednesday night " Prayer Meeting." 

Then again....I watch my surrounding in the hardware store, grocery, dollar stores....Then again, I generally carry a revolver wherever I go. ( Spies and assassins always carry revolvers, think about why?)

Do a little research people, learn the different branches of Islam. 

Don't panic, go to church this morning. Talk to Jesus, just be aware of your surroundings....If something doesn't look right, you might consider leaving....