Retired teachers feel pinch of health plan changes

Those under 65 must pay for larger part of care in order to prop up fund -  Two car crashes in a two-month span left Cherlyn Glanville with debilitating headaches and bouts of vertigo, forcing her into early retirement from the Houston Independent School District in 2011. Glanville, a former French teacher, now needs 10 medications and regular treatments to ease her pain and stay functional. This year, she expects her health care costs to total about $4,800 out of pocket, a manageable amount for her.  But next year, Glanville will face a maximum out-of-pocket cost of $7,150, the result of recent changes to the state's retired teachers' benefits fund, a drain on her $21,000 yearly pension.

East Chambers ISD’s Campbell named Region 5 Superintendent of the Year

Citing his strong leadership skills, dedication to improving the quality of education at his district, and his commitment to public support and involvement in education, the Region 5 Education Service Center named East Chambers ISD's Scott Campbell the 2017 Superintendent of the Year.  Campbell, who has been the district superintendent since 1997, was hailed for being directly involved with parents and students as stress from the state's standardized testing mounted, according his nomination letter.  Here is the news release from Region 5: view article  

TRS 403(b) Informal Rulemaking Conference

TRS staff will be holding an informal conference in Austin on June 28th at 10:00 a.m. in Room E345 to obtain the opinions and advice of interested persons on proposed 403(b) rule amendments. A copy of the notice that will appear in the June 23rd edition of the Texas Register may be viewed here. Information on the proposed rule amendments may be found on the TRS website. Comments regarding the proposed rules may be submitted in writing to 403b@trs.texas.gov. Written comments must be received by TRS no later than July 17, 2017.

EDITORIAL: New, readable, individualized STAAR report card boon to parents

Pronounce us not only impressed but even astounded at the new State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness Report Card that parents of school students receive this month. While some of the infighting over education in the Texas Legislature this past spring must surely discourage parents, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath and the Texas Education Agency staff have produced a document that not only better communicates to time-pressed parents how their children did on STAAR testing but how parents can help them strategically improve.  view article  

New From TEA

• LEAs with Schools Identified as Priority and/or Focus for school year 2017–2018 6/27
• Open-Source Instructional Materials6/27
• Special Education Data Sharing Request - Eligibility for Reimbursement 6/20
• School Year 2015–2016 (Fiscal Year 2016) Final IDEA-B LEA MOE Compliance Reviews 6/20
• 2017-2021 Commissioner’s List of Approved Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Assessment Instruments 6/20
• Risk assessment level for school year 2017–2018 (fiscal year 2018) 6/20
• News from the Grants Administration Division: Updates to New EDGAR FAQ Now Available6/5
• NIFA Online Application is Now Open 6/1

2016 Tax Ratification Elections/Results

Election information related to all Tax Ratification Elections in 2016

Lawmakers gearing up for special session but Gov. Abbott still hasn’t signed proclamation

The special session is right around the corner, but Governor Greg Abbott has yet to sign the official proclamation allowing lawmakers to begin filing bills.  Several lawmakers have drafted bills or announced intentions to file bills in-line with the Governor's list of 20 items he wants addressed in the special session.  "It will be the regular session on steroids," said political analyst and professor at St. Edwards University, Dr. Brian Smith. view article  

Wallis, Bryan ISD to meet in court today

A lawyer for Bryan ex-superintendent Tommy Wallis is expected to question school administrators and the board president in an Austin courtroom today, just as an unrelated legal battle starts to unfold in his current district of Kirbyville.  Trustees in the East Texas school district near Beaumont recently released one document and a video recording after complaints were lodged by a lawyer for the family of Dennis Reeves, Kirbyville's High School principal who reportedly killed himself more than a month ago after a brief meeting with Wallis in which he was forced to resign. view article  

Midland:  Schroder offers straight talk about MISD deficits

Midland ISD could receive a couple of extra pennies -- two “golden pennies.”  These golden pennies represent a two-cent increase in the district’s maintenance and operations rate. These pennies are described by those in the education business as “golden” because that revenue is not “recapturable.” In other words, the state of Texas cannot take its cut from Chapter 41 or “property rich” schools. Midland ISD is a property-rich school. Its recapture payment this past school year was $48.3 million. That is money from Midland taxpayers that went to other school districts.  These two “golden pennies” would mean an extra $6 million for district operations. view article  

Springer asks Abbott to address rural school funding

Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, sent a letter Monday to Gov. Greg Abbott requesting that the special session call be expanded to address funding for small, rural school districts.  As a representative of 22 rural counties in north and west Texas, Springer said he is of the devastating effects that the funding shortfall will have on small school districts and has stressed the need to continue funding for these schools. The letter was also signed by Reps. Ken King, Dustin Burrows, Poncho Nevarez, and Ryan Guillen. view article  

Harlingen:  Super of the Year

The Tax Ratification Election, redesign of the career and technical education department, and the creation of the Harlingen School of Health Professions.It’s all happened under the watch of Harlingen School Superintendent Art Cavazos. He tips his hat to so many in the district who have participated in these and so many other initiatives.  The Region One Education Service Center, however, is also giving a nod to Cavazos, who has served as superintendent for four years. Translated, that “nod” refers to Region One’s announcement that Cavazos has been selected as the 2017 Regional Superintendent of the Year. view article  

Supreme Court Playground Ruling Feeds School Voucher Debate

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and other proponents of school voucher programs are praising a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said a Lutheran church was wrongly denied a state grant for its preschool playground. But opponents say the ruling is far from an endorsement of the use of public money for religious schools.  The court, by a 7-2 vote, sided with Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Missouri, which had sought a state grant to put a soft surface on its preschool playground. view article  

School board faces tough budget decisions

Budget talks continued at the June 20 Eanes board meeting, with an eye toward looming deadlines. Tax assessments are lower than expected, and some revenue is still up in the air until the special session of the Texas Legislature.  Officials are concerned about their diminishing fund balance and trying to decide how much of a safety net is needed. The Texas Education Agency recommends a minimum balance of two and a half months of expenditures, or 21 percent, but Eanes prefers a floor of at least 25 percent, according to Chris Scott, the district’s executive director for business services. view article  

Vouchers - The Lie of My Money Follows My Child

Repost! “All vouchers really do is let my money follow my child.  It finally gives me a choice.” Such a compelling and seductive lie.  Especially, if you ignore the facts. Fact One: The typical single family’s school taxes are less than the typical voucher.  Which means that it is not YOUR money following your child. It is OUR money.  And the more school age children in the house, the less of your money is educating your children. It is a bucket load of OUR money that doing the job.   view article  

SETX Superintendent Salaries for 2016-17

How much did your superintendent make in the 2016-17 school year?  view article  

What the latest U.S. Supreme Court rulings mean for Texas

With its current term ending this week, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday delivered a handful of rulings on high-profile cases, including President Donald Trump's executive order barring entry into the U.S. from several predominantly Muslim countries.  The justices will return to a full plate in October. Meanwhile, here are the highlights from today's rulings, and what they mean for Texas. view article  

School Board Trustee Steps Down After Miss Black Texas Dispute

COMMERCE (CBSDFW.COM) – A board member with the Commerce Independent School District stepped down Tuesday morning in the wake of the arrest of a former Miss Black Texas. Elected official Michael Beane was involved in a dispute with 23-year-old college student Carmen Ponder last month. Ponder had initially claimed that Chief Kerry Crews with the Commerce Police Department was the white driver who allegedly made racist and sexist comments to her after a traffic-related dispute. But authorities later determined that the confrontation involved another white man who was teaching his daughter how to drive. That man was Beane. view article  

Brownsville school district approves 11 cent property tax increase

The Brownsville Independent School District's school board on Monday approved a property tax increase of 11 cents. Past mistakes made by previous school boards put the district in a bind to request more money at the expense of Brownsville residents. "If we think about what Brownsville should have done in the last 15 years-- should've increased the tax a cent each year,” said Brownsville ISD Superintendent Dr. Esperanza Zendejas. “We would have been where we needed to be at." view article  

Testimony slams work of former Beaumont ISD auditor

 A state education official spent more than four hours on Monday detailing Gayle Botley's failure to detect flaws in Beaumont ISD's financial procedures in his work as the district's auditor in the first day of a hearing to revoke the Port Arthur accountant's professional license. Botley, who reached a $750,000 settlement with BISD last month in a negligence suit, faces the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy this week in a five-day hearing at the State Office of Administrative Hearings. view article  

Denison ISD spent $500K to settle Sexton case

After multiple Freedom of Information Act requests, a law firm representing the Denison Independent School District released that the district paid $500,000 to settle a lawsuit back in May. The parents of a special needs student at Denison High School filed a federal lawsuit last year alleging that a Denison High employee manhandled their son while he was a student at the school and that the school had no system in place to protect the child from the employee. view article  

Texas Lawmaker Calls Pumping Money Into Non-Public Education “Ridiculous”

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - With a special legislative session getting closer by the day south Texas lawmakers are weary the laundry list of items will be addressed in 30 days, “If we couldn't do it in 140 days I don't see how we can do it in 30 days” said District 37 Representative Rene Oliveira. He currently ranks fifth in overall seniority of the 150 members of the Texas House of Representatives. As the special session is set to begin July 18th,  in order for lawmakers to start on Governor Greg Abbott’s 19 item to-do list they first must view article  

Navasota ISD seeks feedback on facilities, bond election

The Navasota ISD is collecting feedback on the condition of district facilities and how the community feels about a possible bond election in November. view article  

Trustees approve projects in Needville ISD

At their June 21 meeting, Needville ISD trustees approved a request to expand the kitchen at the middle school at a cost of about $200,000.  Superintendent Curtis Rhodes said the food service fund balance of approximately $400,000 will cover the renovations, which are necessary to accommodate the approximately 250 students who will be added to the campus once fourth grade moves from the elementary school to the middle school for the 2018-19 school year. view article  

Marble Falls ISD adopts $41.8 million general fund budget

Marble Falls Independent School District trustees approved a $41.8 million balanced general fund budget for fiscal year 2017-18 during their regular board meeting Monday night after holding a public hearing. The new budget includes a three percent payroll increase for all staff with additional market adjustments plus an additional $25 per month in health insurance premium benefit for all employees. The budget assumes a total tax rate of $1.2786, which includes $1.0533 per $100 valuation for maintenance and operations and 22.53 cents for interest and sinking. It represents a slight decrease from the 2016-17 tax rate of $1.28 per $100 valuation. The tax rate will not be approved until the August board meeting, after the district receives the final certified values from the Burnet Central Appraisal District on July 25. view article  

Seguin Independent School District names finalist for superintendent position

SEGUIN — The Seguin Independent School District named its new superintendent on Tuesday. Dr. Matthew Gutierrez has served as the assistant superintendent for Plano ISD since 2015. Before that, he served as interim superintendent at Little Elm ISD for one year during the three years he served as the assistant superintendent there. Additionally, he's also served as an elementary principal and middle school assistant principal.  Gutierrez earned a bachelor's degree from Angelo State University, a master’s from Schreiner University and a doctorate from Texas Tech University, according to a news release. view article  

Cavazos named Region One Superintendent of the Year

Harlingen Superintendent Arturo Cavazos has been named the 2017 Regional Superintendent of the Year. Region Once Education Service Center said it selected Cavazos because he is credited with "completely changing the landscape of education and services provided to students." Cavazos has been superintendent for four years and overseas a district with 18,800 students. view article  

Mixed opinions on Killeen ISD facility plan

A wide spectrum of opinions have flooded the Herald’s Facebook page in relation to the Killeen Independent School District’s plans to open four new schools and expand its career center. KISD has tentative plans to spend nearly $300 million by 2021 as detailed in the district’s strategic facilities plan. Over the past few years the district has had overcrowded schools and this expansion plan is expected to be used to address some of those problems. However, the district has not yet said when the board will decide whether to use a bond election, or when the construction will begin on each construction site. view article  

Texas Legislature to revisit property tax reform in special session

State lawmakers will return to the Capitol for a special session next month to tackle property tax reform, a legislative priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick that was stymied in the House during the regular session.“Texans pay the sixth-highest property tax in the nation and Texans have told us loud and clear that common-sense property tax reform legislation is long overdue,” Patrick said in a statement in November after Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, filed Senate Bill 2, which limits property tax increases to less than 5 percent before a rollback election is automatically triggered. view article  

Navasota: Bond Committee meeting held

The first of six bond committee meetings for Navasota Independent School District was held Tuesday, June 20. The meeting date coincided with the launch date for the pre-bond survey on the district’s website. Superintendent Dr. Stu Musick relayed the time line and objectives for the following meetings and introduced the recent hires by the board, including Christian Merritt as the new financial advisor and the architects from Goodwin, Lassiter and Strong. view article  

Brownsville ISD Board Approves New Assignments

At a the Rescheduled Board Meeting held on Monday, June 26, 2017, the Brownsville ISD Board of Trustees approved Lorenzo Sanchez as the Chief Financial Officer of the Rio Grande Valley’s largest school district.  view article  

Fort Worth Moves Forward to Alleviate Elementary School Crowding

Fort Worth Independent School District's school board will allow the superintendent to negotiate and make an offer for new school property that would alleviate crowding at Tanglewood Elementary School. The land will likely be located west of South Hulen St. and within the zoning area for Tanglewood Elementary.  view article  

Elgin: Local policy aims to help more students

Elgin ISD school board members approved a local policy to direct funds to elementary students who fail to meet all state “at-risk” criteria, but still need additional academic assistance during a regular meeting on June 19. The purpose of establishing local eligibility criteria is to be able to direct some State Compensatory Education (SCE) funds to students who do not meet the SCE state at-risk criteria. view article  

Marshall ISD approves teacher incentives for UIL sponsoring

Marshall ISD has created an incentive plan for teachers who wish to earn a little extra money while also helping students excel at UIL academics and extra-curricular activities. The district's trustees unanimously approved a motion to allow teachers who sponsor UIL academic teams, band, choir, orchestra and One Act play to earn monetary incentives based on how far they advance in their respective competitions. "Everyone always wants to make more money and this way, they get a base salary and if they want some extra pay, they can earn it," Marshall ISD Superintendent Jerry Gibson said. "This will be a reward for their amazing effort." view article  

Here’s what Cy-Fair ISD included in the $920 million budget for 2017-18 Spending plan includes pay raises, new schools

The Cy-Fair ISD board of trustees adopted a $920 million budget for the 2017-18 academic year at last night’s regular meeting.  Highlights of the budget included increasing the starting teacher salary from $52,025 to $53,000 and a 3 percent raise for all classroom teachers. All other employees in the district are slated to receive a salary increase of 3 percent of midpoint or base salary—whichever is greater.  The district plans to spend $17.4 million on teacher raises and $6.9 million on raises for all other employees. view article  

Texas lawmakers to author ‘bathroom bill’ for special session

Texas Governor Greg Abbott's office announced on Tuesday that Senator Lois Kolkhorst and Representative Ron Simmons will author legislation for the upcoming special session that will seek to "protect the privacy of women and children," more commonly known as the "bathroom bill." Lawmakers considered the bill, which would require people to use the restroom that corresponds with the biological sex indicated on their birth certificate, but did not pass any legislation. view article