The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 142, Ed. 1 Tuesday, April 14, 1992 Page: 1 of 24
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Volume 70, No. 142
Telephone Number: 422-8302
I
Tuesday, April 14, 1992
Baytown, Texas 77520
50 Cents Per Copy
5
Trustees accept resignations
By Betsy Claggett
of The Baytown Sun
Goose Creek trustees Monday
accepted the resignations of another
seven administrators participating in
the school district’s early retirement
incentive plan.
School district employees have until
Wednesday to notify the district of
their intentions to participate in the
early retirement incentive plan.
Under the plan, employees with 20
years of creditable service are eligible
to receive a bonus of 100 percent of
their 1991-92 contract salary — to be
paid out over a four year period.
Roy said about 38 teachers have
expressed an interest in accepting the
early retirement offer, although none of
the requests has as of yet come before
the school board.
Retirements in administration come
before the board sooner so school
officials move forward quickly in
advertising fpr those specific vacancies,
Roy said.
The list of administrators whose
retirement plans were brought before
the board Monday, includes two princi-
pals, two counselors and three other
professionals. Combined, they repre-
sent 206. years of experience. ____ Gentry Junior School, retires with 12
Dr. James Lewis, director of .Secon-^ years in Goose Creek and another 17 in
dary education, has been employed in ~*'— —
Goose Creek for 19 years and is among
those participating in the plan. He has
32 years of experience.
Regent candidates
face issues at forum
Topics raised include funding, taxes, racial diversity
Under the district’s recently unveiled
reorganization plan, Lewis was to have
been reassigned to a high school cam-
pus. He would have been responsible
for the duties of director of performing
arts and of secondary education —
grades 9-12.
Jepp Busch, principal at Travis
Elementary, is leaving after 32 years in
Goose Creek. Phyllis Dean, principal at
other districts.
James Pledger, vocational admini-
strator at Stuart Career Center, is
retiring with a total of 33 years of
experience, including 18 years in Bay-
town.
Also at Stuart Career Center, voca-
tional counselor Larry Whitley is retir-
ing after 22 years with Goose Creek.
'Don Swint, a counselor at Ashbel
Smith Elementary, is retiring after
having been in Goose Creek for 29
years.
Bill Rogers, science coordinator, is
also retiring, ending his 29-year-long
career at Goose Creek.
When trustees approved the exten-
sion of administrative contracts in late
February, they took no action concern-
ing Rogers’ contract — which, had he
not retired, had two years remaining.
All of these retirements become
effective in June.
Ben Gollehon, director of perform-
ing arts: Dick Stafford, head football
coach at Ross S. Sterling High School:
and Ed Wachtel, RSS principal, have
already announced their intentions of
retiring at the end of the school year.
Coach of the Year
-<£-
By Kenneth Kesner
of The Baytown Sun
. An audience of more than two dozen people
posed questions about Lee College’s funding,
taxes, racial diversity and other issues to the five
candidates for Lee College regent posts during a
forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters
of Baytown Monday night.
None of the candidates would go so far as to
say they would not raise the tax rate imposed by
the college, though all indicated they would be
reluctant to do so.
Attorney Roger Schirmbeck noted that, other
than state fimding, the college has only two basic
ways to raise money: taxes and tuition. He said it
would be difficult to raise either, and “I can’t
promise I won’t raise taxes, but it would certainly
be one of the last alternatives I would look at.”
In response to another question, he said Lee
College should be more aggressive in attracting
students under the Job Training Partnership Act
and other programs that bring in revenue.
Mercedes Renteria, who is also LC student
body president, said tax and tuition increases
would have to be proportionate, so that neither
students nor taxpayers bear all the increase. But
care must be taken that tuition hikes don’t drive
students from low income families away. “If the
college serves the community,” he said, “the-
community should pay something back.”
Renteria said more needed to be done to attract
and retain minority and low-income students, and
minority faculty members. More publicity or
advertising targeting these groups, highlighting
the quality and opportunity inherent in the
college’s programs, could help.
Incumbent Regent Oswall Harman said, some
’ * ■ -■ ' ° '
previous tax increases had been necessary because
earlier boards had cut taxes and run out of funds,
aid he indicated the college should avoid that
situation. He pointed out repeatedly during the
forum ^hat the most pressing issue facing the
college in the next six-to-eight years would be
maintaining funding to maintain high-quality
programs.
Much has been done to improve racial diversity
at Lee College in the last few years, he said. He
suggested the current faculty could be tapped as a
resource in working toward more racial diversity
among instructors in the future.
Attorney Cindy McNeill suggested the college
should look for more sources of alternative
funding, and should consider urging outlying
communities to become part Of the Lee College
taxing district. “We service Dayton and Crosby
and Liberty,” she said. “Let’s invite thbse people
... to come in and be a part of our district, help
us with funding for our school, expand our
programs.”
She also suggested a “tracking” program, which
would look at students’ performance after they
have left campus and entered the work force,
could help the college fine tune its programs in
that area.
Incumbent Regent Wayne Gray said, “Lee
College is one of our most valuable assets. It has
toughed every life in this community ... I think
we need to look at every item in the budget, but if
we have to raise taxes to preserve the integrity of
the institution, that’s what we have to do.”
He expects Lee College to continue to thrive
and expand programs in^the face of cuts in state
funding. “If the. students are here, if they enroll,
tihe community will support (the college).”
Good
Afternoon
SUNDIAL
Around town..........7-A
Business update.".... 12-A
Classified.......... 9-11-A
Comics............;.. 6-A
Dimensions...........7-A
Editorial..............4-A
Obituaries............3-A
Police beat...........2-A
School menus........2-A
Sports.................8-A
Stock.quotes......... 2-A
Television..........7. 5-A
WEATHER
Moore-Fontenot
takes new post
TUESDAY NIGHT: Partly
cloudy, low in mid-60s.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy,
high in mid-80s. From 8
a.m. Tuesday to 8 a.m.
Wednesday, high of 84,
low of 64.
MINI-THOUGHTS
Protect the birds. The
dove brings peace and
the stork brings tax
exemptions.
-—-—WO
By Betsy Claggett
of The Baytown Sun
Goose Creek school trustees
Monday agreed to hire Susan
Moore-Fontenot, principal of
Crosby Kindergarten, to serve as
assistant director of personnel.
, The posi-
tion is one
that is newly-
created under
the school
district’s
reorganiza-
tion plan. Ac-
cording to
the plan, this
position will Su*«n Moore-Fontanot
“invigorate all minority recruit-
ing efforts.”
“She will assist with recruit-
ing and be a key component of
that,” said Jerry Roy, personnel
director.
Roy said a salary for the new
position has not yet bqen
budgeted. However, based on
the district’s salary schedule for
employees with Ms. Moore-
Fontenot’s experience and.edu-'
eational background, she will be
paid $50,982 annually.
Roy said *
— her employment
with Goose Creek will begin as
soon as she is free from her obli-
gations with the Crosby school
district.
Crosby school officials could
not be reached for comment.
'Ms. Moore-Fontenot, 35, is a
former employee of the Goose
Creek school district, having
^worked as educational diagnos-
tician and later as special educa-
tion supervisor.
* She left Goose Creek for the
Crosby school district four years
ago, where she became special
education director. A year ago,
Ms. Moore-Fontenot was prom-
oted to principal of Crosby
Kindergarten.
She also spent four years as a
speech pathologist in the Port
Arthur school district.
She has a bachelor of arts de-
gree from Sam Houston State
University and a master of edu-
cation from Lamar University.
Ms. Moore-Fontenot earned
certification as a professional
mid-management administrator,
special, education supervisor,
jcounselor; supervisor, educa-
tional diagnostician; and provi-
sional early childhood, hand-
;------ child.
Photo by Tracy Connell
Goose Creek Comets Coach Chuck Russell, front center, celebrates his selection as
Coach of the Year for Texas Special Olympics, Area 4. Also celebrating the honor are
team members, Joseph Singleton, front left, Russell, Julie-Zeglin, Elizabeth Neal, back
left, Sarah Arnold, Mike Townsley, Patty Kanipe and Jordan Horger.
Sun employees promoted
Slits cuiieiitiy serves on the
Lee College Board of Regents.
Three Baytown Sun employees have been
promoted to new posts at the newspaper.
Judy Starnes is now the newspaper’s business
manager, Dennis Wilson has been named retail ad-
vertising manager and John F. Thomas is now as-
sistant circulation manager.
Ms. Starnes recently celebrated her 10th year
with The Baytown Sun. At the time of her promo-
tion she was in charge of bookkeeping. Her man-
agement responsibilities have been expanded to in-
clude all accounting, purchasing and personnel
functions.
Ms. Starnes is a participant in the “Leadership
Baytown” program sponsored by the Chamber of
Commerce, and is on the United Way Allocations
Committee. She is currently attending Lee
College.
A Dallas native, Ms. Starnes moved to Baytown
21 years ago. She has a son, Jeffrey, 21, attending
college in Dallas, and a daughter, Mika, 16’, at-
tending Ross S. Sterling High School. -
Wilson has been with The Baytown Sun since
January, when he began work as a classified ad-
vertising sales representative.
He is a graduate of Tyler High School in Tyler,
earned an associate’s degree at Tyler Junior Col-
lege, and has attended Stephen F. Austin State
University, majoring in management. __
Judy Starnes
Dennis Wilson
John Thomas
Wilson has lived in Baytown since 1976, and-
was formerly comptroller and a stockholder for
Fulco Tire Distributors, and owner-operator of
Custom Cleaners.
Wilson and his wife, Rae, a teacher at Baytown
Christian Academy, have a daughter, Laura, 12,
and a son, Derek, 9. »
Thomas was district manager for circulation be-
fore his promotion to assistant circulation mana-
ger. He has been with the newspaper since 1988,
when he began working part-time delivering
papers.
He was bom in Gary, Indiana, but has lived in
Baytown since 1969, and is a 1984 graduate of
Sterling High School.
.Thomas said he became interested in the news-
paper business while he was taking journalism
■Courses at I ,ee College. He has also attended Stc-
phen F, Austin State University arid the University
of Houston at npar 1 Qlro J
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Dobbs, Gary. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 142, Ed. 1 Tuesday, April 14, 1992, newspaper, April 14, 1992; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1020793/m1/1/: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.