Proposed city budget

July 16, 2013

The city manager is scheduled to present her proposed 2014 city budget to city council today (July 16, 2013).

It will take a few posts to cover just the obvious issues.

Let’s start with some of her proposed priorities:

Complete AAA ballpark on time and within budget.   What budget? We were told that the ball park would cost $50 million.  Now the cost estimate is up to $64 million.  A recent El Paso Times article quoted the city engineer  “In the next 30 days, the final cost and amenities of the ballpark are expected to be set as the majority of its construction bids should be received and start being awarded …”

Finalize relocation of city departments to permanent spaces.  According to the home page of the city web site “The City Hall relocation is complete”.  Oh, they have a couple of buildings yet to remodel.  And some city departments are scattered over town in parks and recreation facilities and rented office space.  This says nothing of her hope to create a new government complex in entirely different buildings after this move is finished and the dust settles.

Enter into Public Private Partnership with Customs and Border Protection to alleviate bridge wait times.  Public Private?  What part of this would be private?  Give us a break.  Tell the truth once in a while.

Explore concession agreement with CRRMA (or some alternative) for more effective oversight of International Bridges.  This one is huge and will be covered in a later post.  In the mean time is she saying that oversight of the bridges is deficient now?  Then get to work and fix it.

Stay tuned.

We deserve better

Brutus

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Help stop the lawsuit

July 15, 2013

Tomorrow’s (July 15, 2013) city council agenda has this item on it:

Discussion and action on the status of the Texas Attorney General’s opinion on the release of personal emails that pertain to official city business by various members of city council and staff and the cost to date, on hiring outside legal counsel acquired by the city to challenge the AG’s opinion.  [Representative Emma Acosta, (915) 541-4515]

Members of the public requested the emails through the Texas public information act.  The city resisted and asked the attorney general for permission to conceal them.  The attorney general ruled that they must be released according to the law.  The old city council then voted to spend our taxpayer money to sue the attorney general.

The city suit will fail.  This is a stalling tactic to keep us from knowing the truth about what those people did to us.  To add insult to injury, the old city council used our taxpayer money to try to deny us what we are legally allowed.

The city representative that put this on the agenda has done a good thing.  The new council should vote Tuesday to stop the lawsuit and release the documents per the attorney general’s ruling.

This issue is very important.  Holding up the release of these emails is keeping the public from knowing what has been happening and what might be happening now.

Contact your city representative today.  In particular let the mayor know what you think.

You can leave a comment on the mayor’s city web site here http://home.elpasotexas.gov/mayor/feedback.php or you can email him at mayor@elpasotexas.gov

The city representative deserves our encouragement.  The comment link for her at the city is http://home.elpasotexas.gov/city-representatives/district-3/contact-district-3.php you can email her at district3@elpasotexas.gov

You do not have to leave your name or any other information with either one.

Here we have a chance to make a difference.

We deserve better

Brutus

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Has anything changed?

July 14, 2013

The headline article in the Wednesday, May 22, 2013 edition of the El Paso Times was about school district spending per student.

The El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) is the largest school district in the area.  The Texas Education Agency (TEA) recently stripped the district’s elected board of trustees of their power and appointed a board of managers  to run the district.  We are told that this action was mostly the result of a horrible cheating scandal (by the employees, not the students) and the trustees not taking action and  being transparent in their dealings.  The new board has been tasked with rebuilding public confidence.

The Times talked with local school districts about the spending per student issue.  What did EPISD have to say?  “Officials at the EPISD were not available to comment” according to the Times article.  So much for transparency.

The Times was able to talk with the president of the newly appointed board of managers.  He was, until the latest election, a Texas state representative.  While in office he voted to cut $5.4 billion from the state education budget.  The Times chose not to mention that.  So much for transparency.

The $5.4 billion dollar cut may have been the right thing to do.  EPISD wastes money like a drunken sailor.  They have people on their central office staff that hinder teaching instead of helping it.  Ask any classroom teacher, but be prepared for an ear full.

One of the members of the new board of managers was appointed by the TEA as the conservator of the school district in August of 2012.  She had the power to overrule the board of trustees.  Have we seen any new action as a result of her position?  What is the district doing differently since she has been in control?  So much for action.  So much for transparency.

Now it appears that the City of El Paso wants to kick the EPISD central offices off the airport property that the district leases.  We are being told that it will cost $40 million to build new facilities.  If they are telling us that it will be $40 million what will the number really be?

We have a TEA appointed board of managers.  So be it.  They need to get to work and fix the district.  They need to tell us what they are doing.  They need to fix public confidence.  They need to work with the city to avoid spending $40 million when what money they do have should be spent on educating the children.

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty

Cato

2 Comments | City government, El Paso Independent School District, El Paso Times, State Government, Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by Cato

Elementary school rankings

July 13, 2013

Our elementary schools were ranked by Children at Risk this way:

Campus School District RANK 2013 STATE LETTER GRADE
Bonham El El Paso ISD 36 A
Cielo Vista El El Paso ISD 90 A
Mesita El El Paso ISD 109 A
Vilas El El Paso ISD 169 A
Eastwood Heights El Ysleta ISD 274 A
Marguerite J Lundy El El Paso ISD 323 A
Aoy El El Paso ISD 331 A
Bradley El El Paso ISD 341 A
Zach White El El Paso ISD 361 A
Milam El El Paso ISD 419 B
Mitzi Bond Elementary El Paso ISD 463 B
Logan El El Paso ISD 487 B
Green El El Paso ISD 505 B
Ysleta El Ysleta ISD 506 B
Loma Terrace El Ysleta ISD 523 B
William C Herrera El El Paso ISD 530 B
Edgemere El Ysleta ISD 538 B
Mission Valley El Ysleta ISD 547 B
Alicia R Chacon Ysleta ISD 588 B
Hillside El El Paso ISD 593 B
Collins El El Paso ISD 601 B
Moreno El El Paso ISD 605 B
Zavala El El Paso ISD 659 B
Western Hills El El Paso ISD 668 B
Nixon El El Paso ISD 686 B
Mesa Vista El Ysleta ISD 750 B
North Loop El Ysleta ISD 776 B
Lancaster El Ysleta ISD 785 B
Guerrero El El Paso ISD 790 B
Kohlberg El El Paso ISD 792 B
Tippin Elementary El Paso ISD 799 B
Putnam El El Paso ISD 808 B
Escontrias El Socorro ISD 818 B
Macarthur El-Int El Paso ISD 832 B
Marian Manor El Ysleta ISD 853 B
Glen Cove El Ysleta ISD 855 B
Coldwell El El Paso ISD 936 B
Fannin El El Paso ISD 948 B
Bill Childress El Canutillo ISD 955 B
Presa El Ysleta ISD 974 B
Lamar El El Paso ISD 1006 B
Del Norte Heights El Ysleta ISD 1029 B
Burleson El El Paso ISD 1037 B
Loma Verde Socorro ISD 1044 B
Vista Del Sol El Socorro ISD 1065 B
Newman El El Paso ISD 1078 B
Dowell El El Paso ISD 1159 B
Alfonso Borrego Sr Elementary San Elizario ISD 1235 B
Jose H Damian El Canutillo ISD 1254 B
Le Barron Park El Ysleta ISD 1273 B
Desertaire El Ysleta ISD 1298 B
Cayuga El Cayuga ISD 1310 B
Ramona El Ysleta ISD 1312 B
Parkland El Ysleta ISD 1327 B
Canutillo Elementary School Canutillo ISD 1337 B
Tom Lea Jr El El Paso ISD 1364 B
Park El El Paso ISD 1381 B
Clendenin El El Paso ISD 1382 B
Elkhart Int Elkhart ISD 1384 B
Douglass El El Paso ISD 1386 B
Scotsdale El Ysleta ISD 1389 B
Barron El El Paso ISD 1416 B
Vista Hills El Ysleta ISD 1434 B
Schuster El El Paso ISD 1467 B
Sageland El Ysleta ISD 1483 B
Johnson El El Paso ISD 1530 B
Crockett El El Paso ISD 1532 B
Robbin E L Washington El Ysleta ISD 1547 B
Dr Sue A Shook School Socorro ISD 1575 B
Tornillo Int Tornillo ISD 1580 B
H R Moye El El Paso ISD 1612 B
Thomas Manor El Ysleta ISD 1623 B
Hacienda Heights El Ysleta ISD 1674 B
Stanton El El Paso ISD 1716 B
Tierra Del Sol El Ysleta ISD 1742 B
Cooley El El Paso ISD 1812 B
Wm David Surratt El Clint ISD 1831 B
Beall El El Paso ISD 1847 C
Colin L Powell El El Paso ISD 1854 C
H D Hilley El Socorro ISD 1891 C
Howard Burnham El Burnham Wood Charter School Distri 1895 C
Cadwallader El Ysleta ISD 1906 C
La Fe Preparatory School La Fe Preparatory School 1920 C
Capistrano El Ysleta ISD 1947 C
North Star El Ysleta ISD 1976 C
Lujan-Chavez El Socorro ISD 2005 C
Whitaker El El Paso ISD 2021 C
Clardy El El Paso ISD 2057 C
Rusk El El Paso ISD 2069 C
Dolphin Terrace El Ysleta ISD 2078 C
Roberts El El Paso ISD 2089 C
Alta Vista El El Paso ISD 2095 C
Red Sands El Clint ISD 2099 C
Hughey El El Paso ISD 2106 C
Pasodale El Ysleta ISD 2159 C
Eastwood Knolls Ysleta ISD 2183 C
John Drugan School Socorro ISD 2192 C
Lee El El Paso ISD 2295 C
Pebble Hills El Ysleta ISD 2310 C
Bill Sybert School Socorro ISD 2315 C
Ernesto Serna School Socorro ISD 2331 C
South Loop El Ysleta ISD 2343 C
Paso Del Norte School Socorro ISD 2349 C
Cedar Grove El Ysleta ISD 2428 C
Helen Ball El Socorro ISD 2505 C
Constance Hulbert El Ysleta ISD 2510 C
Benito Martinez El Socorro ISD 2569 C
Myrtle Cooper El Socorro ISD 2572 C
Elfida Chavez El Socorro ISD 2582 C
Josefa L Sambrano El San Elizario ISD 2647 C
Travis El El Paso ISD 2703 C
L G Alarcon Elementary San Elizario ISD 2704 C
Sierra Vista El Socorro ISD 2738 C
Deanna Davenport El Canutillo ISD 2744 C
O’Shea Keleher El Socorro ISD 2756 C
East Point El Ysleta ISD 2794 C
Horizon Heights El Socorro ISD 2858 C
Crosby El El Paso ISD 2876 C
Jane A Hambric School Socorro ISD 3011 C
Sgt Roberto Ituarte Socorro ISD 3014 C
Bliss El El Paso ISD 3149 C
Chester E Jordan Socorro ISD 3156 C
Desert Wind El Socorro ISD 3173 C
Ascarate El Ysleta ISD 3233 C
Gonzalo And Sofia Garcia Elementar Canutillo ISD 3267 C
Hart El El Paso ISD 3271 C
Hueco El Socorro ISD 3384 C
Montana Vista El Clint ISD 3405 C
Harmony Science Acad (El Paso) Harmony Science Acad (El Paso) 3417 C
Hurshel Antwine School Socorro ISD 3438 C
Campestre El Socorro ISD 3461 C
Anthony El Anthony ISD 3488 C
Robert R Rojas El Socorro ISD 3715 D
Harmony School Of Innovation – El Harmony Science Academy (El Paso) 3849 D

Children at Risk indicates on their web site that they use the following criteria when ranking elementary schools:

  • STAAR Advanced Reading – 3rd Grade (10%)
  • STAAR Advanced Reading – 4th Grade (10%)
  • STAAR Advanced Math (10%)
  • Attendance Rate (10%)
  • Class Size, Grade 1 (5%)
  • Class Size, Grade 2 (5%)
  • Class Size, Grade 3 (5%)
  • Retention Rate, Grade 1 (2.5%)
  • Retention Rate, Grade 2 (2.5%)
  • Retention Rate, Grade 3 (2.5%)
  • Retention Rate, Grade 4 (2.5%)
  • Percent Economically Disadvantaged (20%)
  • Reading Gain/Loss (7.5%)
  • Math Gain/Loss (7.5%)

They ranked 4,059 schools.  Schools ranked 2,030 or above are thus in the bottom half of the state.

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Posted by Brutus

It’s All Good

July 12, 2013

A reader sent this in.  I thought it deserved it’s own post instead of being lost in the comments section.

elpasospeak.com does not claim to be right.  It seeks to facilitate civil discussion, hopefully leading to increased citizen involvement in our governments.

El Paso: It’s All Good. Except for Some People.

The new City campaign slogan is: “El Paso. It’s All Good.” But it seems that the old adage “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander” doesn’t apply here.

Paul Foster’s Western Refining moved two thirds of its corporate headquarters staff to Arizona. Bill Sanders’ Verde Realty relocated most of its operations to Houston. Both moves cost El Paso a substantial number of good jobs that paid great salaries. These gentlemen are the same people wanting taxpayers to help fund downtown as a means of making El Paso more appealing to major employers. They along with Woody Hunt are supposedly leading our economic development effort through their backing and leadership of Borderplex Alliance (PDNG and Redco). If they think companies being pitched to locate in El Paso will not see a disconnect between their words and their decisions related to their own businesses, they’re sorely mistaken. The relocation of these two companies should be a reality check for everyone who believes that downtown redevelopment is truly about helping all of El Paso.

Check these links and draw your own conclusion:

http://www.elpasoinc.com/news/top_story/article_7b9e78a4-0ee1-11e1-abc9-0019bb30f31a.html

http://www.elpasotimes.com/business/ci_15072702

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