Extra Credit

Candidate stops quest for Fort Worth school board District 9 seat

The race for the Fort Worth school board's District 9 seat is down to two people.

Candidate Melody Palacios notified supporters on Saturday by email that she is no longer going to pursue the seat because of health reasons, she told the Star-Telegram.

She said school district officials told her that ballots have already been printed for the May 11 election and that it was too late to officially withdraw.

One candidate, Ashley E. Paz, is challenging incumbent Juan Rangel for the seat. Palacios said she is not making an endorsement of either candidate vying for the seat.

Jessamy Brown

United Educators Association endorses Fort Worth ISD board incumbents for re-election

The Fort Worth-based United Educators Association employee group is endorsing the re-election bids of two Fort Worth school district trustees, a news release said.

The group, which represents more than 6,000 Fort Worth school district employees, is endorsing incumbents Carlos Vasquez in the school board's district 1 and Juan Rangel in district 9.

"Juan Rangel and Dr. Carlos Vasquez have proven themselves as champions for our students and our teachers," Steven Poole, UEAs executive director, said in the release. "As a current teacher, Dr. Carlos Vasquez understands the needs of our students. Juan Rangel's experience on the school board is important to help us focus on the continued improvement of our schools."

Vasquez, a teacher, has two challengers: Camille Rodriguez, a podiatrist and Jacinto A. Ramos Jr., a juvenile probation officer.

Rangel, a marketing/management consultant, is also in a three way race. Ashley E. Paz, an event planner and Melody Palacios, who gave her occupation as a housewife, are also running for the seat.

The group's executive board reviewed the candidates' qualifications, voting records and other factors, the release said.

Jessamy Brown

 

Fort Worth school board candidate maintains he is eligible for district 1 seat

In the middle of a three-way race for the Fort Worth school board’s district 1 seat, questions surfaced about whether one of the candidates meets the residency requirements for the post.

At issue is whether Jacinto A. Ramos Jr. lived in the single-member district for six months before the March 1 filing date, as required.

The Star-Telegram asked him to respond. Ramos said he has lived in the district, representing Fort Worth’s north side, since July 2012. That’s seven months. [Update: okay, it was pointed out that it is more than seven months. ]

Two people are challenging incumbent Carlos Vasquez, a teacher, for the seat. Camille Rodriguez, a podiatrist, is also in the race.

Ramos used to live in a home he owns on Cochise Drive in far north Fort Worth (near Haslet), but said he leased the property out in June 2012. Because new tenants were located quicker than expected, the family stayed with Ramos’ mother in her home on Northwest 30th Street from June 15 to 30. The next month, they moved into the property they own on Harrington Avenue. In August, they registered a son at Northside High (two other children attend school in another school district, where Ramos’ wife is an employee).

Tarrant County property tax records show Ramos still has a homestead exemption on the Cochise Drive property. He paid taxes on the property in December.

Ramos says he filed documents to have the homestead exemption changed this month but more paperwork is needed for it to be complete.

He said one part of the initial delay was he had to supply a drivers license with his new address on it to switch the homestead exemption. That’s according to state law changes that went into effect Sept. 1, 2011.

He said he renewed the license in October. Also, he said, the new one had not arrived by Nov. 6, election day. So he voted back at the Haslet-area precinct that matched the license he had at the time, he said.

“I thought that it updated the voter registration when I did the license renewal,” he said. He changed his voter address on March 4 at the Tarrant County Elections Center, a clerk said Thursday.

Jessamy Brown

Teachers to rally, march to Austin capitol for Save Texas Schools event on Sat

Teachers and public education supporters are traveling to the state capital this weekend for a Save Texas Schools march and rally at the Texas capitol.

Organizers expect about 15,000 people to the Saturday event. The rally is to start with a march from the Congress Avenue bridge to the capitol site.

Here's their battle cry: "Say NO to school funding cuts, vouchers and a broken testing system. Say YES to great public schools for ALL Texas children."

The group's website says that a group from Everman ISD is chartering a bus to Austin.

And Fort Worth-based United Educators Assocation is taking a bus full of folks, leaving about 6 a.m. on Saturday morning from Tarrant County College-South Campus, says Steven Poole, UEA executive director.

Here are the details:

• March: 10:45 a.m. on the Congress Avenue Bridge to the capitol. Gathering at the Austin American-Statesman at the corner of Riverside Drive and S. Congress Avenue.
• Rally: Noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Texas State Capitol on the South Steps, Congress Avenue & 11th Street
• Directions and Parking: here.

Many educators have traveled to Austin in recent weeks while the legislature is in session. Fort Worth school district teachers Dolores Rayas and Raul Duran joined 400 teachers who met with state legislators at the Association of Texas Professional Educators' lobby day on Feb. 11. Rayas and Duran teach at Como Montessori School, according to a news release from spokeswoman Ashley Anthony.

And Kennedale school district trustees, district administrators and city of Kennedale reps spent Feb. 12 in Austin. They met with Rep. Bill Zedler, Sen. Wendy Davis and Rep. Diane Patrick, said Erin Hyden, school district spokeswoman. (R: Kennedale Day at the state capitol. Via KISD)

Jessamy Brown

 

Fort Worth schools trustees to discuss proposed employee pay raise

Employees at the Fort Worth school district may be getting a pay raise next year.

The nine-member school board is meeting on Tuesday and trustees are scheduled to discuss a proposal to give workers a salary boost. Watch it online Tuesday here.

School district officials are creating budget priorities as they work to develop the spending plan for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

Administrators are recommending that changes to pay be handled this way:

First, the district could roll a one-time, one percent payment employees were given for the 2012-2013 school year into the salary scale for next year. Then the district could add an additional 2 percent increase to salaries on top of that. The pay raises would cost $9.7 million, with funds coming from the district's general fund.

In pre-meeting documents, trustees were told:

"Due to the reductions in funding, the district was unable to increase salaries for employees over the last two years. This has diminished the District's capacity to attract and retain high quality staff. Therefore, the priority for 2013-2014 is to increase employee salaries to be more competitive."

Another proposed budget priority is to keep the maintenance and operations portion of the tax rate the same. That portion of the tax rate, which pays for the day to day operations of the district is 1.04 per $100 of assessed property value, the highest Texas districts can go without additional voter approval. Combined with the portion for debt repayment, the total tax rate is $1.322, which has remained unchanged since 2009.

Administrators are also recommending that the fund balance in the general fund be maintained at $70 million.

Jessamy Brown

New building eyed for Fort Worth ISDs Young Women's Leadership Academy

The girls at the Young Women's Leadership Academy may be moving to new digs on Eighth Street in Fort Worth.

The Fort Worth school board in January agreed to purchase the Tarrant County Education Center building at 401 E. 8th St.

On Tuesday, trustees are to consider using $5.8 million from funds left over from the Capital Improvement Program to pay for renovations to the building.

The deal still must still be considered by the Tarrant County Commissioner's Court, which is expected to take up the matter at a meeting scheduled for Feb. 26, a school district spokeswoman said. If both parties approve, officials hope to be done with renovations and ready to move into the new building in time for the fall 2013 semester.

The academy has outgrown its current space, Fort Worth schools spokesman Clint Bond said.

The school opened in August 2010 in a converted building on West Magnolia Avenue that served as the school district's adult education center. Officials are adding one grade per year. This year, there are students in grades seven through 10.

Jessamy Brown

 

 

De Zavala Elementary launches revamped lunch menu with healthy, tasty food

Students wearing chef hats and dark blue aprons guided two dignitaries visiting De Zavala Elementary School on Wednesday to prepare a healthy snack with yogurt.

Reading step-by-step directions, the students helped Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price make "Price's Red White and Blue Parfait," featuring layers of yogurt and fruit.

To make a treat named for Fort Worth schools superintendent Walter Dansby, dubbed "Dansby's Delight," students worked with Fort Worth schools district operations chief Art Cavazos.

The event was part of a program celebrating the Food for Thought menu launch, a pilot project at De Zavala Elementary to revamp cafeteria menu offerings to include more healthy fare. It's a joint program of the city of Fort Worth and Fort Worth schools. The Dannon Company, which has a plant in Fort Worth, sponsored the program and donated yogurt to use in menu recipes.

Here's Thursday's Star-Telegram story.(R: Student Melissa Carmone eats lunch. ST photo, Ron T. Ennis)

"We’ve been pushing health for the last two and a half years," said Hector Martinez, De Zavala principal. "Ultimately we want to look at the results of healthier choices and how they lead to better attitudes, better behavior and better academics."  

(R: Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price/ ST Photo Ron T. Ennis).

Here are the recipes for the Food for Thought treats:

Price's Red White and Blue Parfait

6 oz. Dannon nonfat vanilla yogurt
4 strawberries, sliced
1 T blueberries
2 T blackberries
2 T Raisin Bran cereal
In a glass, layer strawberries, then 3 oz. of the yogurt, then add the blackberries. Add remaining 3 oz. of yogurt, then add blueberries. Top with crushed cereal.

Dansby's Delight

6 oz. Dannon nonfat vanilla yogurt
4 strawberries, sliced
1 banana, sliced
2 T Honey Nut Cheerios
In a glass place half the strawberry slices, then layer half of the banana slices, add 1 T of the cereal. Add the remaining yogurt, banana slices and strawberry slices. Top with cereal.

Jessamy Brown

First elected in 1983, Fort Worth ISD trustee TA Sims files for May 11 election

Tuesday update
The last incumbent with a seat up for election on May 11 has filed. No opponents have filed.

On Tuesday, Dr. Theophlous Aron (T.A.) Sims Sr., a pharmacist, filed paperwork seeking another term representing the board's district 4. Sims, 72, was first elected to the board in 1983.

Monday update:
Dr. Carlos Vasquez has filed for the upcoming Fort Worth school board election, scheduled for May 11.  Vasquez, 45, who listed his occupation as an educator, is seeking another term as the board's district 1 representative.

All incumbents except Dr. Theophlous Aron (T.A.) Sims Sr. have filed to retain their seats on the board. And Sims, in a telephone interview on Monday with the Star-Telegram, confirmed that he intends to run for another term in district 4. He expects to file paperwork this week.

The board of education trustees are elected by voters in each of nine districts and serve as single member district representatives. Trustees serve four year terms and are not paid for their service.

Friday update:

Trustee Norman Robbins, 65, has filed for the May 11 election. Robbins, a senior community relations manager, is seeking another term to represent the board's district 7.

So for those keeping track, incumbents in districts 7, 8 and 9 have filed this week.

Original Post:

Two Fort Worth schools trustees on Wednesday filed paperwork to seek another term on the board.

By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, the opening of the campaign filing season for municipal and school board elections, Juan Rangel, 65, a marketing/management consultant, filed in district 9 and Joe Ralph (J.R.) Martinez, 46, a realtor, filed for district 8.

The Fort Worth school board has nine single member districts. Districts, 1, 4, 7, 8 and 9 are up for election on May 11. Members serve four years.

We'll add more trustee filings as they are posted on the school district's website.

Jessamy Brown

Like budgeting? Apply for Arlington ISD's Financial Futures Committee

If your own home and business affairs just don't satisfy your number-crunching appetite, there could be a spot for you with the Arlington schools' Financial Futures Committee.

The committee's role is to review the district's 2013-14 budget and make recommendations to the school board on how to save money and run the schools more efficiently.

FFC members must be free to attend the scheduled meetings on Jan. 29, Feb. 12 and 26, March 5 and 26 and April 2, all Tuesdays. Meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Mac Bernd Professional Development Center, 1111 W. Arbrook Blvd.

Initial deadline is Jan. 11, but applications will be taken until all appointments have been made.

Applications are online here.

_ Shirley Jinkins

Fort Worth-based Region XI Service Center to offer technical help, board training to charter schools

The Fort Worth-based Region XI Education Service Center will host a phone and email support center to help charter schools around the state, the Texas Education Agency said Friday.

The TEA is working with the Region 11 center and Texas Charter Schools Association to launch the Texas Charter School Technical Assistance Network.

The Region 11 service center and charter school group were picked through a competitive application process. They with be paid about $500,000 for this year, a TEA spokeswoman said.

Here's how the TEA described the initiative:

"As part of the network, Region 11 will host a telephone and email support center to assist charters. It will work with new charter schools and those non-profit groups that have been awarded charters but have not yet opened their schools. It will provide on-site technical support, as well as training for board members and officers.

"TCSA will provide comprehensive support to all charter schools. It will provide training webinars on fiscal matters, academic issues and data analysis. The webinars will also be recorded so that the information can be reviewed as a refresher course or when new employees are hired. Additionally, the association will offer intensive budget training.

"TCSA and TEA will work together to provide orientation sessions for those interested in submitting a charter application and for those groups that have just been awarded a charter.  The association will also oversee recruitment and training for reviewers who score charter applications."

The state is limited to 215 open enrollment charters and there are 201 charter holders in Texas.

What's the Region XI education service center? Here's how it is described online:

One of 20 ESCs across the state, ESC Region XI provides professional development, technical assistance and management of educational programs to 77 public school districts and 35 charter schools in a 10 county area in North Central Texas.

Jessamy Brown