I recently saw an old email from a former city representative who has now been elected to the EPISD school board but has not been seated. I would mention where I saw it if I could remember.
She was writing about the valuation issue with our local refinery and wrote:
“Western’s value went from $280,224,075 to over a billion dollars in one year. That is about a 200% increase.”
She wants to manage our children’s education?
We deserve better
Brutus
3 Comments | 
City government, El Paso Independent School District | 
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Posted by Brutus
Looking at the 1968-1969 personnel directory for the El Paso Independent School District we can piece together how the staffing levels have changed from then to today. There is a lot of talk about how the central office has grown bloated.
Let’s instead examine the situation in the high schools first. Alphabetically Andress is the first high school in the district, so let’s look at it.
In 1968-1969 there were a principal, an assistant principal, a coordinator of instruction and guidance, a student activities manager, and four counselors–a total of eight. Other than office staff and custodians the rest of the employees were classroom teachers and coaches.
Today the district’s web site tells us that they have a principal, four assistant principals (one for guidance and instruction), an at risk coordinator, four counselors, two education diagnosticians, a high school literacy coach, a high school campus athletic coordinator, a military family liaison, a CDL lab monitor, a parent involvement assistant, a student activity manager, and a transition to career specialist–a total of nineteen.
Yes societal changes and mandates may have required these positions to be created. I am not trying to blame the administrators. My goal is to point out the changes.
Are our children better educated today?
We deserve better
Brutus
1 Comment | El Paso Independent School District | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
New and de-proved was about the airport using a 1% growth rate in car rentals compared to the 6.1% shortfall that the city is experiencing with hotel occupancy taxes this year.
The February numbers for the airport show a 6.2% decrease in passenger traffic from last year. Freight is down 11.4%.
Last week the city revealed that they project city revenues to fall short of budget by 7.35 million dollars. With hotel occupancy taxes down the city will eventually have to dip into the general fund to pay for the ball park.
Home foreclosures in February doubled over last year. New home building permits are falling short of budget by 28.54%.
The Wright amendment is set to expire later this year. We should see fewer airline flights from Southwest Airlines as they will then be able to bypass El Paso on their way to the west coast.
We are not growing economically. None of us know how long this will last or how bad the situation will get.
Isn’t it time that we get the city’s finances aligned with reality?
We deserve better
Brutus
9 Comments | Ball park, City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
Mr. Holt over at holtthink.tumblr.com sent this link of a video that does a fine job of pointing out some of the issues with standardized tests the way we are implementing them. Our school districts unfortunately have little choice in the matter at this point.
I hope that you take three minutes to watch it.
Youngsters across the city have been taking the state mandated tests this week. As the song in the video points out it has gotten to the point that teachers have to teach to the test and only the test. Knowledge outside of what is tested is now deemed unimportant the way we are handling the test results.
He points out that there are organizations that are trying to change the situation. This group is particularly vocal about the issue http://www.fairtest.org/get-involved/opting-out.
We deserve better
Brutus
1 Comment | El Paso Independent School District | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
The El Paso Times editorial Stubborn judges should back down took the El Paso Council of Judges to task for their “unilateral decision to raise indigent defense fees”.
They wrote:
“These judges, who were not elected to make budget and tax decisions, have decided nonetheless to levy added costs amounting to about $500,000 the remainder of this year and $1 million next year. That forces the people who were elected to make such decisions — county Commissioners Court — to cut money elsewhere or raise taxes”.
The judges do have the right and the responsibility to set the rate of reimbursement. The Times knows this and even wrote in their December 27, 2013 editorial:
“The Council of Judges’ recent unilateral decision to raise attorney fees in indigent defense cases by $15 an hour is a classic example of the dysfunctional system set up by the Texas Constitution.”
Further, according to the Times:
“The judges requested a $10 an hour increase for attorney fees in indigent defense cases before the county budget was adopted in October. Commissioners rejected that proposal because the funding wasn’t available.”
The judges made a request for an increase in the reimbursement rate as part of the normal county budget process. The commissioners decided not to honor it.
The judges have the authority to set the rate. Commissioners have to pay it. Pretty simple really.
We elect judges in Texas. If our voters don’t approve of what they have done we will see new judges in the next election.
The Times evidently feels that their judgment should trump the Texas Constitution.
They also evidently feel that while it was good for the city to pay more than market value for the Times building it is not good for lawyers to get paid a fair rate to defend people who cannot afford a lawyer. Now they are taking on the United States Constitution.
How would the Times have responded if the city had used eminent domain to steal their building, or if the city had used code violations to condemn the building and then steal it?
Before the rate increase local lawyers were paid $75 per hour when they worked in court. Most of us pay more for plumbing.
We deserve better
Brutus
9 Comments | City government, County Government, El Paso Times | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
elpasospeak 
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