Unfortunate situation

June 30, 2017

Recently the judge in the EPISD administrators case declared a mistrial.

It seems that the prosecution team failed to turn over evidence that would have helped the defense.

Without regard to consideration of  whether the defendants are guilty or not, we were distressed to read some of the comments on one of the local television station’s facebook page:

The judge is probably in on it too or paid off… gotta love the corrupt justice system in El Paso

Makes u wonder of judge got paid.

Judge briones got $$$$$ for it

Brutus

 

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School districts–charter options (4)

June 29, 2017

The final way that one of our school districts can create a charter school is to hire a company to run an educational program within an existing school.

A school board can turn an entire campus over to an organization or they can ask the organization to operate within a school along with the regular education program.

In either of these cases the district will end up paying an organization and giving them free rent.

We got a hint of things to come in EPISD–avoiding reconstitution.

We deserve better

Brutus

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School districts–charter options (3)

June 28, 2017

An individual campus can become a charter campus if a petition is signed by:

  1. The parents (one) of the majority of the students at a campus, and
  2. A majority of the classroom teachers at a campus.

The school board cannot arbitrarily deny a charter requested.

Parents may enroll their student at a charter campus.  The district may not assign a student to a charter campus unless the parent has voluntarily enrolled the student.

A teacher cannot be assigned to a charter campus if the teacher has signed a written statement that indicates that the teacher does not agree to the assignment.

Texas law also has a provision that allows the school board to unilaterally create a charter campus as long as the number of students attending such district created charter campuses does not exceed 15 percent of the total students in the district.  There is an exclusion to the 15 percent rule if the district wants to create charter campuses to a feeder pattern of schools, including an elementary, middle, and high school.

It seems that there is a way for schools to be operated separately from the school district to which they belong.

We will discuss charter campus programs (private firms) soon.

Stay tuned

Brutus

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EPISD–trailing the other local school districts

June 27, 2017

This graphic has been floating around town for a couple of weeks:

It shows the percentage of students who took the state standardized tests this year that passed.  We don’t know as a fact that the numbers are accurate.

EPISD has the lowest scores in every test category.

Is that because EPISD’s students are somehow different than those in the other districts?  Are they more financially challenged?  Are more of them from households that don’t converse in English?  Are EPISD’s kids just dumber?

Could it be the teachers?  Are they lazier? Less competent? Less professional?

If EPISD wants to attract more students to the district they might start by providing a better education.

We deserve better

Brutus

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City plays favorites

June 26, 2017

It seems that some people want the east side sports complex to be even bigger than the ten million dollar project the voters approved in the 2012 quality of life bonds.

It looks like the expanded bill will be $23.6 million.

Who pays?

The city plans to create a “Public Improvement District” that would assess fees to homeowners in a nearby new subdivision.  According to an article in the Times the fees would bring in about $6.8 million.

The city has already approved a tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ) that will get go keep 42.5 percent of property taxes collected above the current tax base in the development.  That will amount to between $43 and $55 million.

You pay

In other words an area of town wanted a bigger, better, nicer park.  City council is allowing them to carve out part of their city property taxes that would normally have gone into the general fund.  Instead the money will be used to pay for bonds that the city wants to issue.

We deserve better

Brutus

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