It’s Saturday, tell us what’s on your mind.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak
City of El Paso debt=$2,670,400,000, county and school district debt=$1,600,000,000. Total $4.27 billion. Your share $19,350
It’s Saturday, tell us what’s on your mind.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Here is some interesting reading showing how the EPISD can spin enrollment numbers to show the value of spending over a million dollars chasting students.
One of the trustees said It was a really good deal and the rest I guess agreed. They so to speak fell for it hook line and sinker. This was the per-election trustees.
Community Engagement Marketing Contract Budget Justification
The proposed budget for 2018/19 is $500,000.
• In 2017/18, we increased nearly 500 students transferring in from the previous year. That
nearly $3 MILLION.
• We began marketing efforts in 2015 with Brandera. This past fiscal year, 2017-18, was our first full year of implementation with a budget of $300,000. The campaign has been fiscally conservative and very targeted to specific initiatives and boundaries.
• We conducted a Pre-K spring mailer to targeted 15,159 households to promote registration at a
cost of $13,000.
• The Discover EPISD Expo was produced at UTEP at minimal cost. A targeted mailer was sent, also
to targeted households, at a cost of $33,000. The event was attended by an estimated 1,000 people.
• Success districtwide mailer was delivered to promote all initiatives prior to the start of
the year at a cost of $80,000.
A budget of $100,000 would not be cover the cost of direct mailers as suggested.
• In the time we have conducted our marketing campaign, we have begun closing the gap between
Transfer In and Transfers Out.
• Each year, we also have increased the number of Transfer In (New Students) to the District.
TRANSFERS IN (Increase from previous year)
• 2014/15: 17
• 2015/16: 319 (First year of marketing)
• 2016/17: 487 (First full year of marketing implementation)
• In 2017/18, we increased nearly 500 students transferring in from the previous year. That
nearly $3 MILLION.
• Customer Service Initiative
We have embarked on a customer service initiative to address some of the very concerns addressed by
Trustee Byrd. The Office of Community Engagement will begin training campuses on better assisting our stakeholders. That includes assisting parents with our enrollment processes and registration.
This also will include reaching out to parents attempting to unenroll a student from campus.
The market research we have conducted and engagement surveys are providing valuable data and information as suggested. The marketing and customer service initiatives are direct responses to
the data and information collected.
As charters and private schools are increasing their marketing and advertising efforts, it would be detrimental to cut this initiative at this time. We are seeing proven results and continue to reinforce our efforts to promote the district and recruit new students.
Page 9 of 63
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Here’s a pumpkin-flavored rant guaranteed NOT to satisfy your intellectual taste buds: Who made this rule that this time of year EVERYTHING has to taste like pumpkin? Just because l do enjoy a slice of pumpkin pie probably half a dozen times a year doesn’t mean that want my pancakes, cookies, coffee, candy, tea, cereal, etc., to taste the same. And what the hell is this pumpkin-flavored ale business all about? l swear if l catch any of you throwing pumpkin spice into my beer, l’m gonna smack you right in the mouth. That’s because l’m one of these weirdos that wants my beer to actually taste like….beer. lt’s been millions of years since any of us are celebrating the bounties of our harvest, so let’s stop this foolishness already.
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A new law, which went into effect on Sept. 1, requires all government meetings (city councils, county commissions, school boards, hospital districts, public colleges) to open up their meetings to public comments.
The law also applies to special meetings, workshops, and to non-profits who receive federal CBDG money. So the biggest impact locally is probably school districts and the hospital district.
The idea of the law was to weaken authoritarian style government.
It appears that CC is already mostly in compliance.
So it may have been useful for the bill authors to observe several EP CC meetings to see the shortcomings of the law with respect to abuse of executive session and how ineffective it is regarding the general disrespectful attitude and treatment of the public.
https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=86R&Bill=HB2840
H.B. No. 2840
AN ACT
relating to the right of a member of the public to address the governing body of a political subdivision at an open meeting of the body.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 551, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 551.007 to read as follows:
Sec.551.007. PUBLIC TESTIMONY. (a) This section applies only to a governmental body described by Sections 551.001(3)(B)-(L).
(b) A governmental body shall allow each member of the public who desires to address the body regarding an item on an agenda for an open meeting of the body to address the body regarding the item at the meeting before or during the body’s consideration of the item.
(c) A governmental body may adopt reasonable rules regarding the public’s right to address the body under this section, including rules that limit the total amount of time that a member of the public may address the body on a given item.
(d) This subsection applies only if a governmental body does not use simultaneous translation equipment in a manner that allows the body to hear the translated public testimony simultaneously. A rule adopted under Subsection (c) that limits the amount of time that a member of the public may address the governmental body must provide that a member of the public who addresses the body through a translator must be given at least twice the amount of time as a member of the public who does not require the assistance of a translator in order to ensure that non-English speakers receive the same opportunity to address the body.
(e) A governmental body may not prohibit public criticism of the governmental body, including criticism of any act, omission, policy, procedure, program, or service. This subsection does not apply to public criticism that is otherwise prohibited by law.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
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I waited all day yesterday for this opportunity, so now that I see it finally opened, here goes. Did anyone happen to see what Richard Wright posted on his El Chuqueño Blog about three days ago? He quoted a CBS4.com piece where they quoted our City[mis]Manager as saying “A lot has been said about the streetcar in downtown. Issue with that is, you don’t have a lot of density in downtown and uptown. It doesn’t make any common sense to think there will be a lot of ridership there needs to be higher level of density.” IOW, as some of us tried to point out before that silly Trolley project even began, who the hell is going to ride it?! I still believe that, even if we did have lots and lots of people living downtown, the Trolley would not serve them for real transportation, since its route is so damn short! Meanwhile, I see that the Texas Supreme Court has given the green light to go on ahead and tear down what little is left in ‘Duranguito.” We gonna get us an arena if it kills us!
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It was never about density, feasibility, usefulness or anything. It was about building a fucking trolley because some members of the CC got a bee up their butt about the ambiance of trolleys. And TXDOT paid for the goddam thing but not to operate it.
So we have a Trolley to Nowhere that will never go anywhere but we will pay for it. The naysayers were, of course, shouted down as anti-progress just like they are being shouted down now over the arena that will never pay for itself until it is handed over to MS for free.
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Everything in El Paso is about real estate development. The trolley was built to enhance commercial property values and development along the trolley line. Peter S sure has gone quiet about the trolley. It was only a shot time ago that he was taking credit for being the visionary behind the project.
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