Randall Hoyer, Lampasas Independent School District superintendent, greets Jeanette Prugh at an education forum sponsored by the Lampasas County Conservative Club. Technology and legislation result in rapid changes in public education.

State Board of Education Chairman Gail Lowe and Randall Hoyer, Lampasas Independent School District superintendent, addressed some of those changes during a Lampasas County Conservative Club forum Tuesday night at the Lampasas County Office Building.

Mrs. Lowe began the forum, speaking about the SBOE's activities and the recent 81st session of the Texas Legislature.

The SBOE faced criticism from several legislators, Mrs. Lowe said, as bills were submitted that would have removed the elected board's control of the $18 billion Permanent School Fund, given the board's curriculum authority to the Texas Education Agency and authorized a "sunset" review of the SBOE -- the only elected body for which such a review was suggested.

Those proposals failed at the end of the legislative session, though, Mrs. Lowe said. The board chairman added that Texans benefit from an elected state education board.

State Board of Education Chairman Gail Lowe and LISD Superintendent Randall Hoyer talk before giving their presentations at an education forum on Tuesday. "I think the State Board of Education provides a good check and balance, and allows more public input than what the TEA bureaucracy would allow," she said.

Of the SBOE's 15 members, seven typically vote according to conservative principles, Mrs. Lowe said, four take liberal positions, and four tend to be moderates.

The recent legislative session also resulted in adjustments to high school graduation requirements. Effective this school year, the state's Recommended High School Program no longer will require a technology or health class. The physical education mandate will decrease to one credit -- a half-credit drop -- and a speech communications class also may not be required.

Students still must take four years each of English, math, science and social studies classes to graduate on the Recommended plan.

Changes in the Recommended plan may affect the Minimum High School Program and Distinguished Achievement Program, Mrs. Lowe said. Because amended graduation plans typically take effect a year or two after the legislature approves them, the immediate changes to the Recommended High School Program have caused significant confusion for school districts, she added.

Legislators hoped to increase local school district control and give students more flexibility in class scheduling, Mrs. Lowe said, by eliminating or reducing certain course requirements.

Because of the changes, students now can take six elective credits, rather than the three-and-a-half that fit into the old Recommended plan. This should give additional opportunities, Mrs. Lowe said, for enrollment in Advanced Placement and Career and Technical Education classes, as well as for extracurricular participation.

The six electives under the new Recommended plan also will allow students enrolled in TAKS remediation classes to take courses they might not have had time for in their schedules if they were allowed fewer electives, Hoyer added.

Mrs. Lowe also discussed SBOE curriculum reviews and textbook selection. Language arts standards adopted last year emphasize traditional phonics and have made the criteria for evaluating students' writing more rigorous, the SBOE chairman said. In an effort to prepare students for college and workplace employment, grammar and proper spelling now receive greater emphasis, Mrs. Lowe said.

The board is reviewing reading and literature textbooks and will issue preliminary reports in September. Many of the state's textbooks are 10 to 12 years old, and book purchases are funded only 85 percent this year because of budget cuts by the state legislature.

Mrs. Lowe also mentioned the approval of 190 career and technology classes -- including a new engineering course -- and the rewording of science standards to require the teaching of "all sides" of scientific theories, rather than "strengths and weaknesses." Vocational classes will incorporate more math and science offerings than in past years, Mrs. Lowe said.

Social studies standards also are under review, she said. New standards likely will include an emphasis on the founding of America, as well as on the free enterprise system and should describe the United States as a constitutional republic, rather than a pure democracy.

"We can't expect students to know about these things if they are not taught," Mrs. Lowe said.

After the SBOE chairman's presentation, Hoyer discussed a variety of funding and classroom issues he has faced since beginning his duties last month with the LISD.

Superintendent of the Columbus Independent School District for five years before taking the Lampasas post, Hoyer said he has become increasingly frustrated with national and state mandates that limit local control.

Funds granted to school districts through economic "stimulus" legislation, for example, can only be spent as the federal government dictates. Although the superintendent said he will not decline stimulus money offered to the LISD, Hoyer said taxpayers would see better educational results if school districts could decide for themselves how to allocate funds.

Federal dollars would be most effective for early-childhood education, Hoyer said. The superintendent said he hopes to place special emphasis on the school district's lower grades, as he wants all students to work at their grade level by third grade.

The student-teacher ratio for grades one through four should not exceed 22 to 1, Hoyer said, although he hopes to reduce the LISD's ratio to 16 to 1 -- his target during his tenure in Columbus. Classroom sizes can be difficult to limit, he said, when a school board must cut its budget.

Although reductions in fine arts spending can help balance a budget, Hoyer wants to promote such classes, especially for young students. Courses that encourage creativity are especially important in the early educational years, he said, holding up an iPhone.

"Most likely the person who invented this had that 'right brain' stimulated at a young age," the superintendent said. "We need to be able to get [fine arts] back in our classrooms, and we need to stimulate that right brain so our kids can create products we don't know we need yet."

Along with funding fine arts, Hoyer said paying for technological improvements helps students receive the training they need to be competitive in college or the workforce.

"It's changing drastically the way we teach," he said of new technology, "and we need to stay on top of that."

Construction of the new Lampasas High School and Taylor Creek Elementary, along with renovations to Kline Whitis Elementary, allowed for substantial improvements in computers and other equipment, Hoyer said.

"I encourage you to come out and look at them," he said of the new campuses. "Your money was well spent."

During a question-and-answer session, Hoyer said TAKS scores generally have improved at LISD campuses during the last five years. For high school students, the state assessment will be replaced with end-of-course examinations in 2012, the superintendent said.

Hoyer also responded to questions about the LISD's ability to hire good teachers, as surrounding entities, such as the Killeen and Copperas Cove school districts, pay higher salaries.

As Columbus ISD superintendent, Hoyer said he learned the value of local talent. Applicants reared within the school district often make the best educators, he said, because they understand the culture of the area in which they teach. Teachers who work near where they were reared also have strong incentives to see students in their town succeed, the superintendent said.

As additional incentive, LISD principals have the authority, Hoyer said, to hire educators on one-year probationary contracts and to fire teachers who do not meet the expectations set for them.