Tommy and Nancy – What a Pear

March 20, 2015

This from Helen Marshall:

The El Paso Times tells us (http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_27724729/city-manager-hires-former-co-worker-says-new) that the City of El Paso now has a new authority, the Chief Performance Officer, created by City Manager Tommy Gonzalez last November.  The position was filled by Nancy Bartlett, who worked for Gonzalez in Irving (and who will be reimbursed for trips back to North Texas in her initial six months, as her husband and mother are not moving to El Paso).  Bartlett’s base salary and benefits such as full-time use of a city vehicle top $200,000.  The job was not advertised as Gonzalez considers it to be an administrative decision that is within his authority, not that of council.  Bartlett’s total reimbursement will be higher than that of Deputy City Manager David Almonte, who has, possibly coincidentally, submitted his resignation.

Bartlett and Gonzalez are fans of a management setup called Sigma Six, which they tout as the key to making public administration more efficient.  “In the months to come, Gonzalez said, El Paso will begin to see changes that will improve the delivery of city services to the public and get the city staff excited about their jobs.”  If you suffer from insomnia, try reading this Wikipedia article about Sigma Six…and try to imagine life in Sigma Six El Paso.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Sigma   The Strategic Plan, with its babble of Goals and sub-goals, is just the beginning of the excitement!

Bartlett’s expression in the photo accompanying the Times article leaves no doubt that she will be a match for Saint Joyce.

22 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

School ratings

March 19, 2015

There were some comments the other day about charter schools not hiring certified teachers and paying those that they do hire less money than tax supported school districts do.

I decided to look into the relative performance of a local charter school compared to schools across the state and in our city.

The Texas Education Agency  (TEA) publishes an “Accountability Summary” for each school and school district.  They rate each in four areas, 1) student achievement, 2) student progress, 3) closing performance gaps, and 4) postsecondary readiness.

Student progress and closing performance gaps are important but they are not measures of final results.

The report for all schools in the state shows:

stateaccountability2014

Student achievement statewide was rated at 77 and statewide postsecondary readiness was at 69.

The El Paso Independent School District and the Ysleta Independent School District rated pretty much the way the rest of the state did.

Achievement:  State 77, EPISD 77, YISD 79

Postsecondary readiness:  State 69, EPISD 72, YISD 66

The Burnham Wood Charter School District suffered some disparaging remarks on the blog so I looked into their rating.

burnhamwoodaccountability2014

The TEA rated them at 87 in student achievement and 79 in postsecondary readiness.

We don’t know about the salaries they pay their teachers.  As for teacher certification the following was on the TEA web site:

To fulfill the No Child Left Behind federal requirement to be highly qualified, charter school teachers must demonstrate content mastery in their assignment. Charter school teachers must demonstrate competency in the same manner as teachers in public schools.

Brutus

 

 

3 Comments | El Paso Independent School District, State Government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

None of the below

March 18, 2015

The Times did it again.

Their Monday, March 16, 2015 on-line edition contained this survey:

timesculturalcenter

As we wrote in Bait and switch, incompetence, or fraud? the ballot called for the voters to fund a “Heritage” cultural center.  The Times is again trying to spin an issue.

Why?

I’m not against the idea of a museum that helps us remember our local history.  However I don’t understand how we can segregate our culture into a particular building.

Isn’t culture about our common beliefs and practices, our traditions, our facilities, our lifestyles?  Why do we need a building dedicated to our “culture” when we live it every day?

We deserve better

Brutus

11 Comments | City government, El Paso Times | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Alley oops?

March 17, 2015

The Times printed an article yesterday (Monday, March 16, 2015)  titled “USBC Open Championships in full gear at Downtown convention center turned bowling stadium”.

Stadium?

I thought they called those places bowling alleys.  I’ve never heard of a civic center hall becoming a stadium.  Neither has Webster’s dictionary.

Is this just another example of the Times trying to spin an issue?

No need

Then again if we take the Times at their word we already have a stadium downtown and don’t need a new one.

We deserve better

Brutus

3 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Children’s hospital sold

March 16, 2015

Our county hospital and the children’s hospital have signed a preliminary agreement that will control how they go forward.

Make no mistake, the county hospital will be in charge.

According to the proposed term sheet:

  • UMC would become the sole corporate member of EPCH (in other words the only owner).
  • The UMC Board has the right to approve and/or remove EPCH Board Members.

A bit of good news for the children’s hospital is that the county hospital will perform their services at “cost”.  We don’t know what kind of mark up the county hospital was previously taking on under the old agreement.  The only thing that would probably be better for the children’s hospital is if they competitively bid the services.  They might find that the county hospital’s cost is higher than what a for profit would charge.

The lease

Many of us wonder why the children’s hospital has to pay rent when the voters funded the bonds that were used to build the building.  The county hospital is getting paid for something that they did not buy.

The proposed term sheet does not even mention the rent situation.

Pouting?

The outgoing chairman of the county hospital board did not attend the meeting where the tentative agreement was reached.  We have to wonder is he was part of the problem all along.  Did he take his marbles and go home when things did not go his way?

We deserve better

10 Comments | County Government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

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