The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 291, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 5, 1994 Page: 1 of 16
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Inside 6A
What’s Inside...
Sports 1-2B
Texas Today 7A
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3-6B Police Beat....
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Crossword.......;.........8B Sports.............
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Calendar...
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Cross-town rivalry
Lee spikers top
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School rules
Pols argue over
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Carver High ^
Class of ’54 is^
getting together
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Obituaries
Opinion....
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®je paptoton H>uti
50 Cents Per Copy
Wednesday, October 5,1994
Baytown, Texas 77520
Telephone Number: 422-8302
Volume 72, No. 291
Schools
speak out
on changes
toed, code
GCCISD’s success in
TAAS testing scores
additional state funds
YOU’RE NEVER TOO OLD...
By AMTTZ. BARUCH
The Baytown Sun
By MiTZ. BARUCH
The Baytown Sun
Trustees take
advice from
local plants
Four Goose Creek elementary
schools are in line for additional
state money as a reward for their stu-
dents’ successes in recent Texas
Assessment of Academic Skills
(TAAS) tests.
Texas Educatipn Commissioner
Lionel “Skip” Meno said 971 Texas
public schools will receive from
$250 to $30,000 in cash for gains in
student achievement. Four of those
schools, Crockett; Stephen F. Austin,
De Zavala and Travis elementaries,
are in the Goose Creek district.
A total of $5 million is being
granted this year under the Texas
Successful Schools Award System
(TSSAS), the Texas Education
Agency (TEA) said Monday. The
money is being awarded on die basis
of two different types of achieve-
ment on the TAAS test
Crockett Elementary, which the
TEA classified as a recognized
school, will receive $3,406 for
results its students achieved on the
1994 TAAS test. Specifically, the
TEA is recognizing Crockett Ele-
mentary because each student sub-
population (which accounts for the
different ethnicities and low-income
students) with at least 30 students
per sub-population in combined
grades 3-5 scored at least 65 percent
on all sections of the TAAS test in
1994.
The three other schools in Goose
Creek which received state money,
De Zavala, Austin and Travis ele-
mentaries, are getting the funds not
only because their scores were con-
sidered acceptable, but also because
their 1994 4th-grade students made
significant gains on die TAAS test as
Local control of schools, and
the concern over losing it, has
prompted Goose Creek trustees
to unanimously sign a resolution
stating the school board’s opposi-
tion to proposed changes in the
Texas Education Code.
The proposed changes come as
part of passage of Senate Bill 7,
the school funding bill adopted in
1993, which also directed the
commissioner of education to
revise the education code. The
legislative intent in revising the
code, according to the board res-
olution, was to streamline the
code, remove redundancies, and
ensure that the education struc-
ture improved student achieve-
ment.
I
By AMTTZ. BARUCH
The Baytown Sun
Goose Creek trustees -Z
have decided to tap the. f
knowledge and expertise of "
five area plant managers !
selected to form a commit- !
tee to help with the school ,1
district’s maintenance pro- T,
gram.
Trustees voted unani- ‘
mously to approve the reso-
lution calling for the forma- I
tion of a Maintenance Advi-
sory Committee, whose sole
purpose will be to help the. 1
administration improve the
quality and efficiency of the .
district’s maintenance
department — helping ■
school officials provide the
best education while mak-
ing the most efficient use of
funds available. ‘
The committee will
include Larry Lucchesi,
Chevron plant manager; Jim
Horn, Texas Olefins Plant
manager; Gordon Christ-
man, Miles Inc. plant man-
ager; Sherri Stuewer, plant
manager for Exxon Co.
U.S.A.; and Gerald Dutton,
Fnichem plant manager.
“The Advisory Commit-
tee (will) provide construc-
tive input to the school dis-
trict and provide an oppor-
tunity for the members of
the committee to share their
expertise and knowledge in
the development of the tools
necessary” to fine-tune the
school district’s mainte-
nance activities, the resolu-
tion states.
*
/ i
“Some of the provisions (of the
proposed education code
changes) are very complex,” said
Trustee Edward L. Hildebrand Jr.
“But in a nutshell, seme changes
would help to strip power from
local school boards, and the dis-
trict voters, and give it back to the
commissioner of education. It
would disenfranchise the voters
and leave them with no recourse
except having to go to Austin to
complain to the commissioner.”
At heart in the school board’s
resolution are several proposed
provisions. One would diminish a
local school board’s stated
y
it
llsM-
V ;
authority to “manage and govern”
a district’s schools. The new ver-
sion of the code would eliminate
the words “manage and,” leaving
%>
__
_
Photos by KaititoenJ.
Latham
A Houston
Schweitzer
was among
those playing
volleyball on
the first day of
the Baytown
Senior Citizen
Olympics
Tuesday.
► Thirty to 40
people attend-
ed the games’
opening cere-
monies at Lee
College.
in place simply “govern .”
“The logic behind this is simi-
lar to an old Greek philosophy
that children belong to the state,”
Hildebrand said. “And through
this, all education will be con-
trolled by the state.”
Other code provisions the reso-
lution opposes is a Texas Educa-
tion Agency recommendation to
add 20 additional staff develop-
ment days to the school year; and
a recommendation for a 5 percent
increase in teacher salaries and
two added steps to the salary
schedule — without additional
state funding.
Still other proposed code
changes, according to the school
board’s resolution, would
decrease the board’s authority to
select and hire professional
staffers, as well as decrease the
board’s authority to dismiss or not
renew a teacher’s contract; as well
as also decrease the school board
president’s authority as chief bud-
get officer.
“The Board of Trustees is
strongly opposed to the afore-
mentioned changes in the Texas
Education Code which allow for
state mandates without additional
state funding and the emascula-
tion of the authority of the local
school board,” the resolution
states. “The Goose Creek School
Board Trustees are strongly
opposed to any further reduction
in the local control of school dis- tem with the new code, rather than remain the same, with customers
tricts, including, but not limited splitting Houston along geographic still dialing an “0” or “1” before approach to address their need for
to, the above proposals, and the boundaries. dialing the area code and telephone more telephone numbers, according
continued centralization of con- The new area code — 281 — will number. to representatives with Bellcore, the
troi, management and edict from be assigned first to customers who The reason for all this is simple — national organization which admin-
the commissioner of education in place new requests for cellular or Houston is outgrowing its 713 area isters telephone numbering through-
the Texas Education Agency.” paging service beginning March 1, code. Demand for additional tele- out the United States.
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I
formance on the 1993 test. De
Zavala will receive $12,668 for its
students’ significant gains. Austin
Elementary will receive $9,519,
while Travis Elementary will receive
$7,382.
According to the TEA, of the
6,152 schools eligible for considera-
tion statewide, only 391 campuses
met standards under the 1993-94 making significant gains to encour-
TSSAS and accountability system age those campuses to continue —
for the Significant Gain Award.
■
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k. I
$ ,
F
-s 1
it
rather than the schools which are
I’m just thrilled that so many already attaining recognized status.
He also said that each campus
Goose Creek schools achieved this,
said Dick Hallum, assistant superin- Instructional Leadership Team,
tendent. “The 391 schools that which planned the improvements
received awards out of 6,152 eligible that elevated the scores, will be able
in Texas is only 6 percent.”
Hallum explained that the TEA continue efforts to improve test
applied formulas to determine how scores so the campuses can reach the
much money each successful school exemplary 90 percent passing rate in
would receive. He speculated that every sub-population.
Crockett Elementary, which had a A representative from each cam-
higher rating than the others, got less pus will be invited to a ceremony in
money because the TEA wanted the Austin on Jan. 30 to be recognized
bulk of the funds to go to schools by the governor.
to allocate the funds to enhance and
Baytown included in new area code plan
By JANE HOWARD
The Baytown Sun
1995. Customers who place new
requests for traditional or land-line
telephone service will be assigned
the 281 area code one year later,
beginning March 1,1996.
That’s when all customers placing
local calls within the Houston call-
ing area will need to dial the area
code (either 281 or 713) and the tele-
phone number. There will be no
charge for local calls placed between
281 and 713 area codes.
phone numbers has increased dra-
matically over the last several years
due not only to growth but also
acceptance of a broad range of
telecommunications services and
It won’t be long before Baytown
residents find their next door neigh-
bors have a different area code than
they do.
technologies, such as pagers, cellular
Weather
phones, voice mail services, comput-
er modems and fax machines. All
these telecommunications services
utilize local telephone numbers to
connect with the end user.
The greater Houston area, includ-
ing Baytown, is getting a new area
code but it won’t affect a certain por-
tion of the area. Southwestern Bell
Telephone announced Monday a
Tonight: Fair with a low in the
mid 60s inland, near 70 coast.
Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday: Partly cloudy with a
high in the mid to upper 80s.
Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph.
Drawing by Stephanie Branham,
fourth grade, Travis Elementary.
Other major cities, including New
York, Los Angeles and Chicago, are
turning to the overlay area code
Placing a long distance call will
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Dobbs, Gary. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 291, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 5, 1994, newspaper, October 5, 1994; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1158070/m1/1/?rotate=90: accessed July 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.