Someone asked the other day how many attorneys the city has on its staff.
From the 2018 budget:
If we read this chart correctly the number is at least 23.
That does not count the outside law firms that they hire.
We deserve better
Brutus
Who do they think they are kidding?
April 10, 2018Elrichboy over at elchuqueno.com recently wrote that he heard the city is posting videos of their special city council meetings on the city website.
Not really.
Take a look at what they have posted.
Part of what makes the meetings special is that they are held in a special room away from the public and the videos are seldom published.
We deserve better
Brutus
3 Comments | 
City government | 
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Posted by Brutus
Xavier Miranda EPISD open forum statement
April 9, 2018Xavier Miranda sent this in.
We are not knowledgeable about the specific points he raises but it is interesting to know what is going on at EPISD board meetings.
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Brutus,
I will be going before the Board of Trustees on Tuesday, April 10 [edit: 17] at 5 PM to read the statement below at Open Forum.
A few folks from the community will be standing with me as I read it to the Board, but my career may still be in peril.
Please consider posting my statement on your blog in the days leading up to the meeting; as I hope to encourage folks to demonstrate support for our children and our public education system.
Thanks for serving our community.
Best,
Xavier Miranda
EPISD Board Meeting Open Forum Statement
As a professional educator for 31 years, it is my duty to appear before you today, even at the risk of facing retaliation, to ask the trustees to formally request the resignation of Superintendent Cabrera.
The following concerns are shared by many in our community, of whom some stand with me today:
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Students in the Chamizal Neighborhood continue to be exposed to high levels of air toxins from idling International Bridge traffic and a nearby recycling plant. Yet despite supplications from Chamizal parents, Superintendent Cabrera has exacerbated the situation by re-locating the Transportation and Maintenance Facilities to Bowie High School.
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Decreasing literacy and math scores as reported by TEA, indicate a failure of Superintendent Cabrera’s leadership and initiatives, in terms of authentically addressing the unique needs of our student population.
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Secret negotiations have been revealed by Union President Ross Moore, through a FOIA request, which indicates that Superintendent Cabrera is granting oversight of our public schools to charter school officials.
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Dubious procurement processes have been revealed through internal audits, wherein companies and individuals seeking to privatize our education system are awarded contracts. Some individuals have been featured in local news reports, such as the $1500 a day consultant who hails from a charter school company.
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Internal audits reveal that Superintendent Cabrera had inappropriately utilized district funds to pay for affiliation between our district and companies that seek operational oversight of our public schools, namely Chapin High School, Bowie High School, and Andress High School.
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Audits also reveal the use of district funds by Superintendent Cabrera to regularly travel in first-class, pay for attendance to an AIPAC conference, and sending an associate superintendent to a charter school company event.
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Superintendent Cabrera’s administrative re-alignments have prompted many educators to resign, and have left schools such as Coronado High with decimated IB and AP programs.
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Despite passage of a $668.7 million bond, projects are slow to break ground.Given Superintendent Cabrera’s initiative to steer our education delivery to online sources, the promise of converting our schools into WiFi hubs has not taken place.
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Action taken by Superintendent Cabrera and the Board that is seen as politically motivated, has been the approval of the external audit of Trustee Byrd. A better use of district financial resources would be to ensure the funding of programs such as the Migrant Education Program, or the Physical and Occupational Therapy programs.
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Emails between Superintendent Cabrera and disgraced KIPP Co-founder Mike Feinberg have given the impression that various campus administrators will be imminently replaced by individuals trained by private companies. .
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News reports indicate that Superintendent Cabrera has been absent from our district for over 100 days, and makes over $500,000 a year with benefits and leave.
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Decreasing morale of employees is a result from district leadership that includes some individuals of whom have been reprimanded by TEA, or have left previous districts under questionable circumstances.
It is requested of the Board of Trustees to meet with constituents, the elected state delegation, and educators to discuss subsequent steps in restoring our public education system, to one that puts student needs first, and shares our community’s values..
Xavier Miranda
EPISD Teacher
21 Comments | El Paso Independent School District | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
Helping out the big guys
April 8, 2018The Texas state law that would allow the city to file a lien on your property until you have paid the amount of their assessment is chapter 372 of the local government code.
All it takes for the public improvement district to be authorized is a petition to be signed by:
property owners owning more than 50 percent of the appraised value of the properties to be assessed
If two or three property owners in your neighborhood own the larger and more expensive properties then they could gang up and force the smaller property owners to pay for part of the improvements.
This is not one man, one vote. It is might makes right.
We deserve better
Brutus
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Posted by Brutus
Is it because we are blue?
April 7, 2018A regular reader sent this in:
Are El Paso taxes higher because we are a blue county?
12 Comments | City government, County Government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
elpasospeak 
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