redacted documents- released by rrisd -l

[email protected]

From:Sent:To:

Cc:Subject:Attachments:

Kyle SwartzSunday, December 01, 2013 1034 PMSupenntendent_RRIS [email protected]; daudio_cruz@roundrockisd org;[email protected]; diane_cox@ roundrockisd.org;[email protected]; [email protected];paul_tisch(o> roundrockisd.org; paulinejawto) roundrockisd.orgKyle SwartzSHAC Vice Chair Letter In Reponse to November 21 Trustee MeetingSHAC Vice Chair Letter to Trustees and Superintendent. 12.1.2103 pdf

December 1,2013

Dear Round Rock Independent School District School Superintendent Dr. Steve Flores and School DistrictTrustees Claudio Cruz, Charles Chadwell, Diane Cox, Terri Romere, Catherine Hanna, Paul Tisch and PaulineLaw:

My name is Kyle Swartz. I am the Vice-Chair of the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC), as elected onNovember 12, 2013. I was appointed to the SHAC in January 2013.

On Friday, November 22, 2013, SHAC Chairperson Matt Stillvvell sent all SHAC members a note. It stating,that in response to a report he provided to the Board Of Trustees the evening before, the January SHAC meetingwas on hold. He asked that we watch the video recording of the report and Trustee proceedings.

The first time the remainder of the Executive Committee heard of the report, was when it was presented to theTrustees. The other members of the Executive Committee were not asked to help prepare the report, nor werethey invited to attend the meeting.

Thus, I thank you in advance for reviewing the additional material below, to supplement items left from thereport.

(lull letter attached)

December I . 2013

Dear Round Rock Independent School District School Super intendent Dr. Steve Flores and School DistrictTrustees Claudio Cruz, Charles Chadwell. Diane Cox, Terri Romere, Catherine Hanna, Paul Tisch and PaulineLaw:

My name is Kyle Swartz. I am the Vice-Chair of the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC). as elected onNovember 12. 2013. I was appointed to the SHAC in January 2013.

On Friday, November 22, 2013, SHAC Chairperson Matt S t i l lwe l l sent all SHAC members a note. It stating,that in response to a report he provided to the Board Of Trustees the evening before, the January SHAC meetingwas on hold. He asked that we watch the video recording of the report and Trustee proceedings.

The first t ime the remainder of the Executive Committee heard of the report, was when it was presented to theTrustees. The other members of the Executive Committee were not asked to help prepare the report, nor werethey invited to attend the meeting.


Accomplishments

First, I appreciated Mr. St i l lwel l l isting SHAC accomplishments. Through much work and cooperation, theSHAC has:

• Made recommendations related to the nut r i t ion program, recess standards and the counselingc u r r i c u l u m .

• Created governance documents (By-I.aws and Standing Rules) with the help of the Staff Facilitator,Ramiro Flores.

• Attempted to further diversify the membership to meet district social-economic classifications, as perTexas Education Code. The Ad-Hoc Nomination Committee, pursuant to Article 7, Section 3, madethese efforts.

• Established Standing and Ad-Hoc committee structure.• Worked wi th Mr. Flores, to make SHAC By-Laws, meeting packets and related meeting agendas and

minutes easy-to-find. They are now on a designated page on the distr ict Web Site, pursuant to Article 8Section I of the By-Laws.

It is important to note the contrast to where the District was one year ago. The previous organization, referred toas a "SI IAC," was formed outside of fexas Education Code and did not offer a l eve l of governance andtransparency to the community. As an example, the only way I was able to tmd meeting minutes was to submit apubl ic records request through the Dis t r i c t . The organi/ation had no B y - I . a w s tha t I could tmd.

(jreat progress has been made.

As it Relates to the .November .Meeting

I he November m e e t i n g report, provided to the In i s tees t a i l ed to reveal key issues. \ v h i c h i n c l u d e :

, i I h rouuhtu i t . and at the ^ ' i iclusion. ol Ms. Susan Ni\\ Assistant Director ot Athletics, presentation »n•he cur rent sexual educa t ion cur r icu lum used m the D i s t r i c t , she p rov ided personal and co l lec t ive

endorsement from her department of the current cur r i cu lum. Ms. Nix also stated she was receiving callsfrom the Georgetown LSD i n q u i r i n g of the success the dis tr ict is experiencing under its currentcu r r i cu lum.

2) Ms. Nix stated she was not having "parents banging at her door" wanting changes to the currentcurriculum.

3) The SHAC identified and discussed specific areas of concern w i t h Ms. Nix, to improve currentcurr iculum. This related to the consistency of the execution, delivery of content, and the district 's Opt-Out process.

4) The student pregnancy rate, provided by Nefertari Mundy, Director of Student Support, in her report tothe SHAC in the May 2013 meeting, was discussed as being 0.1% of the current student population. Therate makes a continuing downward trend (5 1 pregnancies in student population of approximately42,000).

5) As part of the meeting, SHAC members received a multi-page packet. It contained several questions andcomments from SHAC members, related to the current sexual education curr icu lum.

6) At the conclusion of the meeting, a consensus was met that would have the group, either with a smallerteam, in the Human Growth and Development Standing Committee, or with the entire SHAC in theJanuary Meeting, develop a score card / criteria set. It would be created using SHAC member commentscontained in the packet outlined above in #5 as a necessary first step to identify and define areas toevaluate other cur r icu lum and/or improve existing curr iculum.

7) The Executive committee, pursuant to Article 6 Section 2 of the By-Laws, would meet to establish theJanuary agenda and, with the Assistance of Mr. Flores, develop a recommendation for video recordingfurther SHAC meetings.

8) The SHAC reviewed and approved standing rules, as prepared by the Ad Hoc By-Law committee withthe cooperation of Mr. Flores, as a recommendation from Trustee President on April 18, 2013.

The meeting minutes from the November meeting, presented to SHAC members for approval, w i l l reflect theabove.

As it Relates to the January Agenda

In the Board proceedings, many Trustees were concerned that a January agenda was not set. However, pursuantto:

• Article 6 Section 2 of the By-Laws, the Chairperson is to "Work directly with the Executive Committeeand the Staff Facilitator to compile agendas for all meetings of the SHAC."

• Article 7 Section 1 of the B-Laws defines the Executive committee as "The Executive Committee shallconsist of the elected officers. The Staff Facilitator wi l l participate with the Executive Committee as anon-voting member."

Thus, w h i l e ideas can be gathered from SHAC members, it's not l ikely the Executive Committee can set thenext meeting's final agenda at the end of the preceding meeting. Committed to my Executive Committeeresponsibility, I am read) to meet at tirst notice to accomplish this.

As it Relates to "Personal Attacks"

Trustees used the phrase "personal attacks" repeatedly. I thank Mr. S t i l lwel l for correcting a Trustee after theTrustee stated mul t ip le times that there was personal attached due to "ethnicity." Mr. S t i l l w e l l clearly stated thiswa.s i i t happening. Some addit ional context:

• He: lexas freedom Network : I asked Mr. S t i l l w e l l a quest ion about h i s a f f i l i a t i o n w i t h the Texas; reedom Ne twork . I his i n f o r m a t i o n is in the p u b l i c domain on his campaign web -.ite t h a t Mr. S t i l l w e l lised to run lor pub l i c ol l ice. Mr. S t i l l w e l l accurately re laved main parts of m> ques t ion , hut f a i l e d to

share the significance of my question \vas related to Article 4 Section 4, Conflict of Interest, in the By-l.a\vs. Mr. Stillwell revealed that he took no campaign contributions from the Texas Freedom Network.The matter was resolved.

• Questioning of Members Seeking Elected Office Positions: The Standing Rules approved by SHACmembers, allow for this process.

• The information related to "personal attacks" that Mr. Stillwell provided, were limited to questioning ofcandidates in regards to their qualification to run for an elected officer position. Trustees may have beenincorrectly led to believe these questions were being asked of all SHAC participants.

• Questioning of Vice-Chair Candidate:O Mr. Stillwell indicated the candidate made a comment regarding the current sexual education

provider in an "outside meeting." This "outside meeting" was a SHAC Human Growth andDevelopment Standing Committee meeting held in October, in which the candidate introduced theissue of the religious affiliation of the provider, and brought up the issue of abortion.

O Mr. Stillwell indicated the Vice-Chair candidate was asked about their stance on abortion. This isfalse. The question was, if the candidate felt that a Christian curriculum provider is unacceptable,would the candidate feel there would be a conflict of interest if an abortion provider, or affiliate,provided human sexuality curriculum or instruction.

O I respectfully disagree with the assertion that leadership on the previous "SHAC" is not a relevantpoint of consideration to evaluate the qualification and appropriateness for that person to hold anOfficer position on the current SHAC. The legitimate inquiry was simply on how the candidate usedtheir obvious parliamentarian expertise, and previous committee experience, to bear on theircontributions and involvement in the previous SHAC. When someone is running for a position orhaving a job interview, it makes sense to ask: "How did you apply your expertise or "know-how" ina similar, previous position?" To construe this question as a "personal attack," is a misrepresentation.

• A SHAC member left the SHAC November meeting during the discussion of ideas for the Januaryagenda, while standing up and stating they were Jewish and did not like the fact that the current sexualeducation provider was Christian. Prior to this situation, SHAC member's religious affiliations havenever been a topic at the SHAC, nor were SHAC members ever asked about their religious beliefs byany other SHAC members.

Conclusion:

In closing, I want to congratulate you for appointing a truly diverse SHAC. We've worked hard to build a solid,procedural structure from which to approach school health related questions in a deliberate, rational mannergoing forward.

Respectfully,

Kyle Swart/Vice-ChairSchool I lealth Advisory Council

12/9/13 RounaRocklSD Mail- Cpen Records Request

ROUND ROCK OOO

Open Records Request

Claudio Cruz <[email protected]> Mon, Dec 9, 2013 at 8:37 AMTo: Patty Aguilera <[email protected]>

Forwarded conversationSubject: SHAC Vice Chair Letter In Reponse to November 21 Trustee Meeting

From: Kyle SwartzDate: Sun, Dec 1, 2013 at 10:34 PMTo: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>,"[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]"<[email protected]>, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>,"[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]"<[email protected]>, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>,"[email protected]" <[email protected]>Cc: Kyle Swartz OpHH aSpMMqw

December 1,2013

Dear Round Rock Independent School District School Superintendent Dr. Steve Flores and School DistrictTrustees Claudio Cruz, Charles Chad we 11, Diane Cox, Terri Roniere, Catherine Manna, Paul Tisch andPauline Law:

My name is Kyle Swartz. I am the Vice-Chair of the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC), as electedon November 12, 2013. I was appointed to the SHAC in January 2013.

On Friday, November 22, 2013, SHAC Chairperson Matt StilKvell sent all SHAC members a note. It

stating, that in response to a report he provided to the Board Of Trustees the evening before, the JanuarySHAC meeting was on hold. He asked that we watch the video recording of the report and Trustee

proceedings.

["he first time the remainder of the Kxccutive Committee heard of the report, was when it was presented to

ihe Trustees. Hie other members of the Hxecutive Committee were not asked to help prepare the report,nor were they invited to attend the meeting.

i has. I thank vou in advance lor review ing the additional material bebw. to supplement items Iclt from the

report.

i.ll letter -attached)

tips //inail.google.co(7Vmail/u/(y?u:s2S(IP68c8405e94&view=pl&search=iiitX5rfithK142d7cab1ad2ftl65 i'2

RoundRocklSD Mail - Open Records Request

From Catherine HannaDate: Tue. Dec 3, 2013 at 2.12 PMTo. Kyle SwartzCc: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>,"[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]"<[email protected]>, "diane_cox(g>roundrockisd.org" <[email protected]>,"[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]"<[email protected]>, "paul_tisch@roundrockisd,org" <[email protected]>,"[email protected]" <[email protected]>, JoyLynn Occhiuzzi <[email protected]>, SM Flores <[email protected]>

Dear Mr. Swartz-

On behalf of the Round Rock ISO Board of Trustees, I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your email regardingthe School Health Advisory Council (SHAC).. Pursuant to Board policy, I have included Dr. Flores on thisresponse so that he will be aware of your concerns. I have also copied JoyLynn Occhiuzzi, RRISD's ExecutiveDirector of Community Relations, on this response because she tracks issues concerning the District.

Round Rock ISO Board members share your interest in the work of the SHAC and the Board appreciates yourcommitment to the work of this organization. Round Rock ISO Board members respect the right of employees,parents and community stakeholders to make comments and suggestions that affect Round Rock ISO.

Very truly yours,

Catherine L. HannaRound Rock ISOBoard President

4^\C Vice Chair Letter to Trustees and Superintendent. 12.1.2103.pdf'—' 201K

"ps //irail i

December 1.2013

Dear Round Rock Independent School District School Superintendent Dr. Steve Flores and School DistrictTrustees Claudio Cruz, Charles Chadwell, Diane Cox, Terri Romere, Catherine Manna, Paul Tiseh and PaulineLaw:

My name is Kyle Swart/. I am the Vice-Chair of the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC), as elected onNovember 12, 2013. I was appointed to the SHAC in January 2013.

On Friday, November 22, 2013, SHAC Chairperson Matt Stillwell sent all SHAC members a note. It stating,that in response to a report he provided to the Board Of Trustees the evening before, the January SHAC meetingwas on hold. He asked that we watch the video recording of the report and Trustee proceedings.



Accomplish men fs

First, I appreciated Mr. Stillwell listing SHAC accomplishments. Through much work and cooperation, theSHAC has:

• Made recommendations related to the nutrition program, recess standards and the counselingcurriculum.

• Created governance documents (By-I.aws and Standing Rules) with the help of the StalT Facilitator,Ramiro Flores.


• Established Standing and Ad-Hoc committee structure.• Worked with Mr. Flores, to make SHAC By-Laws, meeting packets and related meeting agendas and

minutes easy-to-find. They are now on a designated page on the district Web Site, pursuant to Article 8Section 1 of the By-Laws.

It is important to note the contrast to where the District was one year ago. The previous organi/ation. referred toas a "SHAC," was formed outside of Texas Education Code and did not offer a level of governance andtransparency to the community. As an example, the only way I was able to find meeting minutes was to submit apublic records request through the District. I he organi/ation had no B\-Laws that I could llnd.

Great progress has been made.

As it Relates to the November Vk-etinu

! he November meeting report, provided to the Trustees tailed to reveal key issues, which include:

1 i I hroughout. and at ihe conclusion, of Ms. Susan Nix's, \ssistant Director o| Athletics, presentation onhe current ^exual education curriculum used in (he District, she provided personal and col lect ive

endorsement from her department of the current curriculum. Ms. Nix also stated she \vas receiving callsfrom the Georgetown ISO inquiring of the success the district is experiencing under its currentcurriculum.


3) The SHAC identified and discussed specific areas of concern with Ms. Nix, to improve currentcurriculum. This related to the consistency of the execution, delivery of content, and the district's Opt-Out process.

4) The student pregnancy rate, provided by Nefertari Mundy, Director of Student Support, in her report tothe SHAC in the May 2013 meeting, was discussed as being 0.1% of the current student population. Therate makes a continuing downward trend (51 pregnancies in student population of approximately42,000).

5) As part of the meeting, SHAC members received a multi-page packet. It contained several questions andcomments from SHAC members, related to the current sexual education curriculum.

6) At the conclusion of the meeting, a consensus was met that would have the group, either with a smallerteam, in the Human Growth and Development Standing Committee, or with the entire SHAC in theJanuary Meeting, develop a score card / criteria set. It would be created using SHAC member commentscontained in the packet outlined above in #5 as a necessary first step to identify and define areas toevaluate other curriculum and/or improve existing curriculum.



The meeting minutes from the November meeting, presented to SHAC members for approval, will reflect theabove.




• Article 7 Section I of the B-Laws defines the Executive committee as "The Executive Committee shallconsist of the elected officers. The Staff Facilitator will participate with the Executive Committee as anon-voting member."

Thus, while ideas can be gathered from SHAC members, it's not likely the Executive Committee can set thenext meeting's final agenda at the end of the preceding meeting. Committed to my Executive Committeeresponsibility, I am ready to meet at first notice to accomplish this.


I rustees u.sed the phrase "personal attacks" repeatedly. I thank Mr. Stillwell for correcting a Trustee after theTrustee stated multiple times that there was personal attached due to "ethnicity." Mr. Stillwell clearly stated this\ain't happening. Sonic additional context:

• tfe: Icxas l-reedom \etwork: I asked Mr Sti l lwell a question about his aifiiiation w i t h the Texas: ;vedom Network. I his informat ion is in the public domain on his campaign web Mte that Mr. Sti l lwell,-ed to run tor public utfice. Mr. Snlhvdl accurately relayed main parts o( m\, hut (ailed to

share the significance of my question was related to Article 4 Section 4, Confl ic t of Interest, in the By-Laws. Mr. S t i l l w e l l revealed tha t he took no campaign cont r ibut ions from the Texas Freedom Network.The matter was resolved.

• Questioning of Members Seeking Elected Office Positions: The Standing Rules approved by SHACmembers, allow for th i s process.

• The informat ion related to "personal attacks" that Mr. S t i l l w e l l provided, were l imited to questioning ofcandidates in regards to their qualification to run for an elected officer position. Trustees may have beenincorrectly led to believe these questions were being asked of all SHAC participants.

• Questioning of Vice-Chair Candidate:O Mr. St i l lwel l indicated the candidate made a comment regarding the current sexual education


O Mr. Stillwell indicated the Vice-Chair candidate was asked about their stance on abortion. This isfalse. The question was, if the candidate felt that a Christian cur r icu lum provider is unacceptable,would the candidate feel there would be a conflict of interest if an abortion provider, or affiliate,provided human sexuality curr iculum or instruction.

O I respectfully disagree wi th the assertion that leadership on the previous "SHAC" is not a relevantpoint of consideration to evaluate the qual i f ica t ion and appropriateness for that person to hold anOfficer position on the current SHAC. The legitimate inqui ry was simply on how the candidate usedtheir obvious parliamentarian expertise, and previous committee experience, to bear on theircontributions and involvement in the previous SHAC. When someone is runn ing for a position orhaving a job interview, it makes sense to ask: "How did you apply your expertise or "know-how" ina similar, previous position?" To construe this question as a "personal attack," is a misrepresentation.


Conclusion:


Respectfully,

K > l e Swart/.Vice-ChairSchool I l ea l th Advisory Counci l

12/10/13 RoundRocklSD Mail- Fwd. SHAG Vice Chair Letter In Reponse to November 21 Trustee Meeting

ROUND ROCK OOO

Fwd: SHAG Vice Chair Letter In Reponse to November 21 Trustee Meeting

Catherine Hanna < mMHVHW£> Tue, Dec 10, 2013 at 1:58 PMTo: Patty Aguilera <[email protected]>

Open Records Request

Forwarded messageFrom: Catherine HannaDate: Tue, Dec 3, 2013 at 2:12 PMSubject: Re: SHAG Vice Chair Letter In Reponse to November 21 Trustee MeetingTo: Kyle Swartz • tMMoMiHMMMMapCc: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>,"[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]"<[email protected]>, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>,"[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]"<[email protected]>, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>,"[email protected]" <[email protected]>, JoyLynn Occhiuzzi <[email protected]>, SM Flores <[email protected]>

Dear Mr. Swartz-

On behalf of the Round Rock ISO Board of Trustees, I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your email regardingthe School Health Advisory Council (SHAG).. Pursuant to Board policy, I have included Dr. Flores on thisresponse so that he will be aware of your concerns. I have also copied JoyLynn Occhiuzzi, RRISD's ExecutiveDirector of Community Relations, on this response because she tracks issues concerning the District.

Round Rock ISO Board members share your interest in the work of the SHAG and the Board appreciates yourcommitment to the work of this organization. Round Rock ISO Board members respect the right of employees,parents and community stakeholders to make comments and suggestions that affect Round Rock ISO.

Very truly yours,

Catherine L. HannaRound Rock ISOBoard President

On Sun, Dec 1, 2013 at 10:34 PM, Kyle Swartz «••••••••••»• wrote:December 1, 2013

Dear Round Rock Independent School District School Superintendent Dr. Steve Flores and SchoolDistrict TYustees Claudio Cm/, Charles ChadwelL Diane Cox Terri Romero. Catherine Hanna, PaidTLsch and Pauline Law:

My name is Kyle Swartz. 1 am the Vice-Chair of'the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC). as elected

!'lttps://iriaiLgoogle.corTVmail/u/0/^u=2&l<=68c8405e94&yev^ptfeearch=inboxAtr)=142tJe1684d4bc9c6 1/2

12/10/13 RoundRocklSD Mail - Fwd: SHAG Vice Chair Letter In Reponse to November 21 Trustee Meeting

on November 12, 2013. I was appointed to the SHAC in January 2013.

On Friday, November 22, 2013, SHAC Chairperson Matt Stilhvell sent all SHAC members a note. Itstating, that in response to a report he provided to the Board Of Trustees the evening before, the January

SI-LAC meeting was on hold. He asked that we watch the video recording of the report and Trusteeproceedings.

The first time the remainder of the Executive Committee heard of the report, was when it was presented tothe Trustees. The other members of the ExecutKe Committee were not asked to help prepare the report,nor were they invited to attend the meeting.

«Thus, I thank you in advance for reviewing the additional material bebw, to supplement items left from thereport.

(full letter attached)

* •*

ps//mail yo<xjlecoirtmail/iVO/7u = &iK=4«c64(j.^94<4yt.'W=pt&searcri=ir]Doxi4tfi=M^de]684cl4bc<Jc6 j/2

'2/4/13 RounORocKISD Mail- OPEN RECORD REQUEST Fwd: SHAG Vice Chair Letter In Reponse (o Nc\efnbef 21 Trustee Meeting

$ ROUND ROCK OOO

OPEN RECORD REQUEST Fwd: SHAG Vice Chair Letter In Reponse toNovember 21 Trustee Meeting

Diane Cox <[email protected]> Wed, Dec 4, 2013 at 7:01 AMTo: Patty Aguilera <[email protected]>

Forwarded messageFrom: Kyle SwartzDate: Sunday, December 1, 2013Subject: SHAG Vice Chair Letter In Reponse to November 21 Trustee MeetingTo: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>,"[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]"<[email protected]>, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>,"[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]"<[email protected]>, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>,"[email protected]" <[email protected]>

December 1, 2013

Dear Round Rock Independent School District School Superintendent Dr. Steve Flores and School DistrictTrustees Claudb Cruz, Charles Chadwell, Diane Cox, Terri Romere, Catherine Manna, Paul Tisch andPauline Law:

My name is Kyle Swartz. 1 am the Vice-Chair of'the School Health .Advisory Council (SI IAC), as electedon November 12, 2013. I was appointed to the Sf-IAC in January 2013.

On Friday, November 22, 2013, SI IAC Chairperson Matt Stillwell sent all SI IAC members a note. It

stating, that in response to a report lie provided to the Board Of Trustees the ev'ening before, the JanuarySHAC meeting was on hold, f ie asked that we watch the video recording of the report and Trusteeproceedings.

ITie lirst time the remainder of (lie Executive Committee heard of the report, was when it was presented tothe frustees. 1 he other members of the Bxeeutive Committee were not asked to help prepare the report,nor \vere they invited to attend the meeting.

11ms. I thank vou in advance lor reviewing the additional material below, to supplement items lelt Irom thereport.

'uil letter .Jtracned)

1 tips //mail ij(Kxjlexx)iri/mail/iV(V7ui = /;Sik=ti8ca4C5e94Ayf<w=piAseafcri=inbox44lh=14t'b<Jb328C)4!Je/')d I 2

12/4/13 RouxjRocKISD Mail- OPEN RECORD REQUEST F'.vd: SHAC Vice Chair Letter In Reponse to November 21 Trustee Meeting

«,> SHAC Vice Chair Letter to Trustees and Superintendent. 12.1.2103.pdf"—' 201K

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Friday, December 6, 2013 at 10:35:13 AM Central Standard Time

Subject: Re: SHAC Vice Chair Letter In Reponse to November 21 Trustee Meeting

Date: Monday, December 2, 2013 at 9:12:40 AM Central Standard Time

From: RRISD Trustee Law

To: Kyle Swartz

Kyle,

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. This is unacceptable and I will follow-up with Dr. Flores.

Thanks again,

Pauline Law

On Dec 1, 2013, at 10:34 PM, Kyle Swartz <««Mp4iMa»HMM > wrote:

December 1.2013

Dear Round Rock Independent School District School Superintendent Dr. Steve Flores and SchoolDistrict Trustees Claudio Cruz, Charles Chadwell, Diane Cox, Terri Romere, Catherine Manna, PaulTisch and Pauline Law:

Vly name is Kyle Swart/. I am the Vice-Chair of the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC), aselected on November 12. 2013. I was appointed to the SI IAC in January 2013.

On Friday, November 22, 2013, SIIAC Chairperson Matt Stillwell sent all SHAC members a note. Itstating, that in response to a report he provided to the Hoard Of Trustees the evening before, the

January SHAC meeting was on hold. He asked that we watch the video recording of the report andTrustee proceedings.

The first lime Ihe remainder of the Executive Committee heard of the report, was when it was presentedto the Trustees. The other members of the Executive Committee were not asked to help prepare thereport, nor were they invited to attend the meeting.

Thus. I thank you in advance for reviewing the additional material below, to supplement items left fromthe report.

( f u l l letter ut iached)

<SHAC Vice Chair Letter to Trustees and Superintendent. I2.1.2103.pdf>

1 of 1

Friday, December 6,2013 at 10:26:39 AM Central Standard Time

Subject: SHAC Vice Chair Letter In Reponse to November 21 Trustee Meeting

Date: Sunday, December 1, 2013 at 10:34:15 PM Central Standard Time

From: Kyle Swartz

To: [email protected], [email protected],charles_chadwell(cproundrockisd.org, [email protected],[email protected], [email protected],[email protected], [email protected]

CC: Kyle Swartz

December 1,2013

Dear Round Rock Independent School District School Superintendent Dr. Steve Flores and School District TrusteesClaudio Cruz, Charles Chadwell, Diane Cox, Tern Romere, Catherine Hanna, Paul Tisch and Pauline Law:

My name is Kyle Swartz. I am the Vice-Chair of the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC), as elected onNovember 12, 2013.1 was appointed to the SHAC in January 2013.

On Friday, November 22, 2013, SHAC Chairperson Matt Stillwell sent all SHAC members a note. It staring, that inresponse to a report he provided to the Board Of Trustees the evening before, the January SHAC meeting was on hold.He asked that we watch the video recording of the report and Trustee proceedings.

The first time the remainder of the Executive Committee heard of the report, was when it was presented to theTrustees. The other members of the Executive Committee were not asked to help prepare the report, nor were theyinvited to attend the meeting.

Thus, I thank you in advance for reviewing the additional material below, to supplement items left from the report,

(full letter attached)

P-ige 1 of 1

December 1,2013

Dear Round Rock Independent School District School Superintendent Dr. Steve Flores and School DistrictTrustees Claudio Cruz, Charles Chadwell, Diane Cox, Terri Romere, Catherine Hanna, Paul Tisch and PaulineLaw:

My name is Kyle Swartz. I am the Vice-Chair of the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC), as elected onNovember 12, 2013.1 was appointed to the SHAC in January 2013.

On Friday, November 22, 2013, SHAC Chairperson Matt Stillwell sent all SHAC members a note. It stating,that in response to a report he provided to the Board Of Trustees the evening before, the January SHAC meetingwas on hold. He asked that we watch the video recording of the report and Trustee proceedings.



Accomplishments

First, I appreciated Mr. Stillwell listing SHAC accomplishments. Through much work and cooperation, theSHAC has:


• Created governance documents (By-Laws and Standing Rules) with the help of the Staff Facilitator,Ramiro Flores.


• Established Standing and Ad-Hoc committee structure.• Worked with Mr. Flores, to make SHAC By-Laws, meeting packets and related meeting agendas and

minutes easy-to-find They are now on a designated page on the district Web Site, pursuant to Article 8Section 1 of the By-Laws.

It is important to note the contrast to where the District was one year ago. The previous organization, referred toas a "SHAC," was formed outside of Texas Education Code and did not offer a level of governance andtransparency to the community. As an example, the only way I was able to find meeting minutes was to submit apublic records request through the District. The organization had no By-Laws that I could find.


As it Relates to the November Meeting

The November meeting report, provided to the Trustees failed to reveal key issues, which include:

1) Throughout, and at the conclusion, of Ms. Susan Nix's, Assistant Director of Athletics, presentation onthe current sexual education curriculum used in the District, she provided personal and collective

endorsement from her department of the current curriculum. Ms. Nix also stated she was receiving callsfrom the Georgetown ISO inquiring of the success the district is experiencing under its currentcurriculum.


3) The SHAC identified and discussed specific areas of concern with Ms. Nix, to improve currentcurriculum. This related to the consistency of the execution, delivery of content, and the district's Opt-Out process.

4) The student pregnancy rate, provided by Nefertari Mundy, Director of Student Support, in her report tothe SHAC in the May 2013 meeting, was discussed as being 0.1% of the current student population. Therate makes a continuing downward trend (51 pregnancies in student population of approximately42,000).

5) As part of the meeting, SHAC members received a multi-page packet. It contained several questions andcomments from SHAC members, related to the current sexual education curriculum.

6) At the conclusion of the meeting, a consensus was met that would have the group, either with a smallerteam, in the Human Growth and Development Standing Committee, or with the entire SHAC in theJanuary Meeting, develop a score card / criteria set. It would be created using SHAC member commentscontained in the packet outlined above in #5 as a necessary first step to identify and define areas toevaluate other curriculum and/or improve existing curriculum.



The meeting minutes from the November meeting, presented to SHAC members for approval, will reflect theabove.




• Article 7 Section 1 of the B-Laws defines the Executive committee as "The Executive Committee shallconsist of the elected officers. The Staff Facilitator will participate with the Executive Committee as anon-voting member."

Thus, while ideas can be gathered from SHAC members, it's not likely the Executive Committee can set thenext meeting's final agenda at the end of the preceding meeting. Committed to my Executive Committeeresponsibility, I am ready to meet at first notice to accomplish this.


Trustees used the phrase "personal attacks" repeatedly. 1 thank Mr. Stillwell for correcting a Trustee after theTrustee stated multiple times that there was personal attached due to "ethnicity." Mr. Stillwell clearly stated thiswasn't happening. Some additional context:

• Re: Texas Freedom Network: I asked Mr. Stillwell a question about his affiliation with the TexasFreedom Network. This information is in the public domain on his campaign web site that Mr. Stillwellused to run for public office. Mr. Stillwell accurately relayed many parts of my question, but failed to

share the significance of my question was related to Article 4 Section 4, Conflict of Interest, in the By-Laws. Mr. Stillwell revealed that he took no campaign contributions from the Texas Freedom Network.The matter was resolved.

• Questioning of Members Seeking Elected Office Positions: The Standing Rules approved by SHACmembers, allow for this process.

• The information related to "personal attacks" that Mr. Stillwell provided, were limited to questioning ofcandidates in regards to their qualification to run for an elected officer position. Trustees may have beenincorrectly led to believe these questions were being asked of all SHAC participants.

• Questioning of Vice-Chair Candidate:o Mr. Stillwell indicated the candidate made a comment regarding the current sexual education


O Mr. Stillwell indicated the Vice-Chair candidate was asked about their stance on abortion. This isfalse. The question was, if the candidate felt that a Christian curriculum provider is unacceptable,would the candidate feel there would be a conflict of interest if an abortion provider, or affiliate,provided human sexuality curriculum or instruction.

O I respectfully disagree with the assertion that leadership on the previous "SHAC" is not a relevantpoint of consideration to evaluate the qualification and appropriateness for that person to hold anOfficer position on the current SHAC. The legitimate inquiry was simply on how the candidate usedtheir obvious parliamentarian expertise, and previous committee experience, to bear on theircontributions and involvement in the previous SHAC. When someone is running for a position orhaving a job interview, it makes sense to ask: "How did you apply your expertise or "know-how" ina similar, previous position?" To construe this question as a "personal attack," is a misrepresentation.


Conclusion;


Respectfully,

Kyle SwartzVice-ChairSchool Health Advisory Council

Cmiail - SHAC' Vice Chair Letter In Reponse to November 21 Trustee Meeting Page I of

c. Terri Romere

SHAC Vice Chair Letter In Reponse to November 21 Trustee Meeting' message

Kyle Swartz < *VHM«mpMMM> • Sun. Dec 1, 2013 at 10 34 PMReply-To Kyle Swartz ^pHMMMMMMMMah*To: "Superintendent_RRISD@roundrockisd org" <[email protected]>."[email protected]" <claudio_cruz@roundrockisd org>, "charles_chadvvell@roundrockisd org"<charles_chadwell@roundrockisd org>. "diane_cox@roundrockisd org" <[email protected]>."Tern_Romere@roundrockisd,org" <Tern_Romere@roundrockisd org>, "[email protected]"<[email protected]>. "[email protected]" <paul_tisch@roundrockisd,org>,"[email protected]" <[email protected]>

December I . 2013

Dear Round Rock Independent School District School Superintendent Dr. Steve Flores and School DistrictTrustees Claudio Cruz. Charles Chadwell. Diane Cox. Terri Romere. Catherine Hanna. Paul Tisch and PaulineLaw:

My name is Kyle Svvartz. I am the Vice-Chair of the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC). as elected onNovember 12. 2013. I was appointed to the SHAC in January 2013.

On Friday. November 22, 2013. SHAC Chairperson Matt Stillwell sent all SHAC members a note. It stating,tha t in response to a report he provided to the Board Of Trustees the evening before, the January SHAC meeting\vas on hold. He asked that we watch the video recording of the report and Trustee proceedings.

The first t ime the remainder of the txecutive Committee heard of the report, was when it was presented to theTrustees. The other members of the H.xecutive Committee were not asked to help prepare the report, nor werethey invited to attend the meeting.

Thus. I thank you in advance for reviewing the additional material below, to supplement items left from thereport.

(full 'etter attached)

-.., SHAC Vice Chair Letter to Trustees and Superintendent. 12.1.2103.pdf—' 201K

hups:, mail.uoogle.com mail/7w=2£amp:ik-233443%7a&amp:vievv-pt&amp:search - inho. \ i tamp:t l r 14... I ] " 2013

December I. 2013

Dear Round Rock Independent School District School Superintendent Dr. Steve Flores and School DistrictTrustees t'laudio Cruz. Charles Chadwell. Diane Cox. Terri Romere. Catherine Manna. Paul Tisch and PaulineLaw:

My name is K>le Swartz. I am the Vice-Chair of the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC), as elected onNovember 12. 2013. I \vas appointed to the SHAC in January 2013.

On Friday. November 22. 2013. SHAC Chairperson Matt Stillwell sent all SHAC members a note. It stating.that in response to a report he provided to the Board Of Trustees the evening before, the January SHAC meetinguas on hold. He asked that we watch the video recording of the report and Trustee proceedings.

The first time the remainder of the Executive Committee heard of the report, uas when it was presented to theTrustees. The other members of the Executive Committee were not asked to help prepare the report, nor werethey invited to attend the meeting.


Accomplishments

First. I appreciated Mr. Stillwell listing SHAC accomplishments. Through much work and cooperation, theSHAC has:


• Created governance documents (By-Laws and Standing Rules) with the help of the Staff Facilitator.Ramiro Flores.

• Attempted to further diversify the membership to meet district social-economic classifications, as perTexas Education Code. The Ad-Hoc Nomination Committee, pursuant to Article 7. Section 3. madethese efforts.

• Established Standing and Ad-Hoc committee structure.• Worked with Mr. Flores. to make SHAC B>-l.aws. meeting packets and related meeting agendas and

minutes easy-to-find. They are now on a designated page on the district Web Site, pursuant to Article XSection I of the By-Laws.

It is important to note the contrast to where the District uas one year ago. The previous oruani/ation. referred to-is a "SHAC. ' uas formed outside of Texas Education Code and did not offer a level of governance andtransparency to the community. As an example, the only way I was able to find meeting minutes was to luhmit apublic records request through the District. The organization had no By-Laws that I could find.


As it Relates to the .November Meeting

i he November meeting report, provided to ihe Trustees tailed to revea l ke\, \vhich include:

' ) I hroughout. and at the conclusion, of Ms. Susan Nix's. \ssistantDirectorof\mlctics. presenr.Himi i j ''he current sexual education curriculum Msed m tne District, -.he provided personal ind collective

endorsement from her department o f the current cur r icu lum. Ms. Nix also .stated she was receiv ing ca l l sfrom the Georgetown ISD inqui r ing of ' the success the distr ict is experiencing under its currentc u r r i c u l u m .

2) Ms. Nix stated she was not having "parents banging at her door" w a n t i n g changes to the currentc u r r i c u l u m .

3) l'he SH.AC identified and discussed specific areas of concern w i t h Ms. N ix . to improve currentcurriculum. This related to the consistency of the execution, delivery of content, and the distr ict 's Opt-(ki t process.

4) The student pregnancv rate, provided by Nefertari Mundy. Director of Student Support, in her report tothe SHAC in the May 2013 meeting, was discussed as being 0.1% o f the current student population. Therate makes a continuing downward trend (5 I pregnancies in student population of approximately42.000).

5) As part o f the meeting. SHAC members received a multi-page packet. It contained several questions andcomments from SHAC members, related to the current sexual education curriculum.

6) .At the conclusion of the meeting, a consensus was met that would have the group, either wi th a smallerteam, in the Human Growth and Development Standing Committee, or wi th the entire SHAC in theJanuary Meeting, develop a score card / criteria set. It would be created using SHAC member commentscontained in the packet outlined above in #5 as a necessary first step to identify and define areas toeva lua te other cur r icu lum and/or improve existing curr iculum.

7) The F.xecutive committee, pursuant to Article 6 Section 2 of the By-Laws, would meet to establish theJanuary agenda and. with the Assistance of Mr. Flores. develop a recommendation for video recordingfurther SHAC meetings.

8) The SI iAC reviewed and approved standing rules, as prepared by the Ad Hoc B v - L a w commi t t ee w i t hthe cooperation of Mr. Flores. as a recommendation from Trustee President on Apri l 18. 201.1.

The meeting minutes from the November meeting, presented to SHAC members for approval, w i l l reflect theabove.

A.s it Relates to the January Agenda


• Art ic le 6 Section 2 o f t h e By-Laws, the Chairperson is to "Work directly w i t h the E x e c u t i v e Commit teeand the Staff Facilitator to compile agendas for all meetings o f the SHAC."

• .Ar t ic le 7 Section 1 o f t h e B-l.aws defines the Executive committee as "The E x e c u t i v e Committee shal lconsist o f t h e elected officers. The Stall" Facil i tator wi l l participate w i t h the I ' - xecu t ive Commit tee as anon-vot ing member."

Thus, w h i l e ideas can be gathered from SHAC members, it 's not l ikely the Execu t ive Committee can set thenex t meet ing 's f i n a l agenda at the end o f t h e preceding meeting. Committed to mv L .xecu t ivc Commi t t eeresponsibility. I ,im readv u > meet at f irst notice to accomplish this.

\ i t Uclatcs ID 'Tcrsmial Attacks"

I mstees -ised the phrase "personal attacks" repeatedly I r|i:ink Mr. S t i l l u e l l lor eorreclitvj j Triisiec a l t e r theTrustee stated m u l t i p l e t imes tha t there was personal at tached due to " c t l i n i c i t v . " Mr. M i l l w e l l c lear lv - la ied misw a s n ' t happening. Some additional contex t :

• I ' . -xas Freedom N e t w o r k : I i.sked Mr. S t n l w e l i i q u e s t i o n iPuut h i s a l t i l i a t i o n w i t h the i e - . i -i • :x'edom Network ( h i s in format ion is m the pub l i c domain on his . ampai<_;n '• ' eh site '!' it Mr N! II

c ; I ' ' ' ' i n ' • r public of f ice . Mr Mi I I ' A ell . i c c u r a f e i v re l a v e d mam par ts ot ' ,m | u c - - t i o n . n u t ' u lcd '

share the significance of my question was related to .Article 4 Section 4. Conflict of Interest, in the B>-l.aws. Mr. Stilluell revealed that he took no campaign contributions from the Texas l-'reedom \etuork.The mutter uas resolved.

• (Questioning of Members Seeking Elected Office Positions: Flie Standing Rules approved by Ml ACmembers, allow for this process.

• I he information related to "personal attacks" that Mr. Sti lKvell provided, were limited to questioning ofcandidates in regards to their qualification to run for an elected officer position. Trustees may have beenincorrectly led to believe these questions were being asked of all SHAC participants.

• Questioning of Vice-Chair Candidate:O Mr. Stillwell indicated the candidate made a comment regarding the current sexual education

provider in an "outside meeting." This ''outside meeting" was a SHAC Human Growth andDevelopment Standing Committee meeting held in October, in svhich the candidate introduced theissue of the religious affiliation of the provider, and brought up the issue of abortion.

O Mr. StilKvell indicated the Vice-Chair candidate was asked about their stance on abortion. This isfalse. The question was. if the candidate felt that a Christian curriculum provider is unacceptable,would the candidate feel there would be a conflict of interest if an abortion provider, or affiliate,provided human sexuality curriculum or instruction.

O I respectfully disagree with the assertion that leadership on the previous "SHAC" is not a relevantpoint of consideration to evaluate the qualification and appropriateness for that person to hold anOfficer position on the current SHAC. The legitimate inquiry was simply on how the candidate usedtheir obvious parliamentarian expertise, and previous committee experience, to bear on theircontributions and involvement in the previous SHAC. When someone is running for a position orhaving a job interview, it makes sense to ask: "How did you apply your expertise or "know-how" ina similar, previous position?" To construe this question as a "personal attack." is a misrepresentation.

• A SHAC member left the SHAC November meeting during the discussion of ideas for the Januaryagenda, while standing up and stating they were Jewish and did not like the fact that the current sexualeducation provider was Christian. Prior to this situation. SHAC member's religious affiliations havenever been a topic at the SHAC. nor were SHAC members ever asked about their religious beliefs byany other SHAC members.

Conclusion:

In closing. I want to congratulate you for appointing a truly diverse SHAC. We've worked hard to build a solid,procedural structure from which to approach school health related questions in a deliberate, rational mannergoing forward.

Respectfully.

Ky le Swart/

Vice-Chair^chool Health Ad\y Council

redacted documents- released by rrisd -l

Documents

shac members

shac meetingwas

shac chairperson matt

executive committee

isting shac accomplishments

counselingc u r r i

nut r i t ion program

diane cox