Balk

June 2, 2013

This is strange.

Both El Paso Inc. and the El Paso Times made mention in their Sunday editions of  a deal between the city and the Diablos essentially paying the Diablos to go away.

The Times even went so far as to say that the item is on the city council agenda for Tuesday.  I went to look at the agenda.  I do not see the item.  I had someone else look.  Unless I missed it, the item is not on the agenda.

What happened?

Somehow both the Inc. and the Times got word of a deal in the making.  It was planned to happen Tuesday.  The item did not make it to the agenda.

Did someone at the city forget to register the item?  That’s possible given their general inability to get things right.  I doubt it though.

Did the massacre at last week’s city council meeting make the city think twice about risking further outcry before the upcoming runoff election?  That’s where my money is.

Sloppy

These people are unable to manage a press release, much less the city.  I will leave it to Brutus to handle the sordid financial details.

Muckraker

6 Comments | City government, El Paso Inc., El Paso Times | Permalink
Posted by Muckraker

Illegitimi non carborundum

June 2, 2013

Next week’s city council agenda has the wholesale rezoning of several neighborhoods on it.

These items were on the April 16, April 30, and May 21 agendas also but were postponed.

Is the city strategy to wear the citizens out by having them come to one council meeting after another until the citizens just give up?

We deserve better

Brutus

Leave a Comment » | City government, Open Government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

SATisfied?

June 1, 2013

Let’s take a look at how our high schools did with average Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores.  I like the SAT because it is a national test and tells us how our graduates are doing compared to the rest of the country.

This chart measures results in terms of what the students are learning.  To me what should be the politically correct way to measure school performance is how much the students learn.  Yes many students are economically disadvantaged or enter high school with inadequate preparation, but in the final analysis how much knowledge the graduates have is very important.

Here we show the average SAT scores for the schools and the ranking that Children at Risk gave them after factoring in other elements.

CAMPUS     AVERAGE SAT SCORE               2013 RANK SCORE
Silva Health Magnet 1,034 10 A
Coronado H S 1,007 195 B
Franklin H S 979 371 B
Burges H S 976 492 C
Chapin H S 954 530 C
Anthony H S 934 377 B
El Paso H S 909 554 C
Montwood H S 883 533 C
Irvin H S 881 1,042 D
Austin H S 877 986 C
Americas H S 876 669 C
Eastwood Hs 874 363 B
Jefferson H S 865 573 C
El Dorado H S 858 390 C
Socorro H S 856 467 C
San Elizario H S 851 505 C
Fabens H S 849 331 B
Horizon H S 846 433 C
Mountain View H S 842 405 C
Canutillo H S 833 1,002 D
Clint H S 831 105 B
Bowie H S 826 1,046 D
J M Hanks Hs 823 552 C
Andress H S 818 1,047 D
Bel Air Hs 809 222 B
Tornillo H S 801 538 C
Del Valle Hs 789 108 B
Parkland Hs 774 614 C
Riverside Hs 750 273 B
Ysleta Hs 739 705 C

It seems that the SAT score indicator was the result of adding the score on the critical reading section to the score on the mathematics section.  This would leave out the writing test.

The Texas state average SAT score for these two tests is around 985 depending on which year you use.  The national average is about 1,010.

If I have my numbers right most of our high schools are below the state average.

It looks like we have work to do.  For the children,

We deserve better

Brutus

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

Two for the price of one

May 31, 2013

The general runoff election will be Saturday, June 15, 2013.

Doubleheader

The city manager is considering a job offer from Lee County Florida just before our election.  Word on the street is that if her choice does not win here in El Paso she will be moving.

Maybe we will be electing a new mayor and deciding what to do about our city manager at the same time.

Double credit!

Your vote is important.  Regardless of which side you are on it looks like you will be helping decide about two jobs at the same time. 

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

Cato

6 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Cato

Lower taxes!

May 31, 2013

City council approved an incentive package for a group that plans to build a 4-star hotel near the airport yesterday May 28, 2013.

It would be nice for El Paso to offer a 4-star hotel.  It will however take business away from existing facilities.

The tragedy is that the incentive package apparently includes relief from the hotel occupancy tax for years  4 through 15.

So the new hotel will not pay it’s full share of the tax.  Neither will the competitors who will lose business.

Remember that the hotel occupancy tax is the primary source of funding for the new ball park.  We already know that hotel occupancy rates are down.  Now we are going to hurt receipts even more.

Then to make matters even worse, the city wants the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) to move it’s central office from land near the proposed hotel.  It appears that the hotel project needs for the land near it to be available for the types of businesses that normally surround a property of this type.

The net effect of this is that EPISD thinks that it will need to raise and spend $40 million to replace it’s facility.

Ouch

We have taken on a lot of debt lately.  Now the plan is to reduce our income and take on more debt.  What about the children?

We deserve better

Brutus

2 Comments | City government, El Paso Independent School District | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

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