The Groom News (Groom, Tex.), Vol. 57, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 15, 1986 Page: 7 of 16
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•.
Dr
Don’t tread on me—McLean youngsters Day on May 7 were students from the
competing on the tire-rolling contest at Play elementary and junior high schools.
Ridgway
Construction
'Remodeling Specialist'
Kitchens, Bathrooms, Additions,
Ceiling, Tile, Steel & Vinyl Siding
17 Years Experience
Call Wendell 779-2702
McLean, Texas
Richardson Texaco
24-Hour Road Service
Full Service Station
Truck & Tractor Flats
TEXACO
Political
Calendar
The McLean News is
! authorized to present the
names of the following candi-
dates for office, subject to
the Party Primary Elections
| on May 6, 1986. A fee has
! been paid by each candidate
for listing in this column
from now through the
election.
DEMOCRATIC PARTY
For County Commissioner
Precinct 4:
TONY SMITHERMAN
For Justice of the Peace,
Precinct 4:
R.C. PARKER*
119 W. 1st.
McLean TX.
Home-779-3231
Bus.-779-2798
For County Clerk:
WANDA CARTER*
For County Treasurer;
LODEMA MITCHELL
THE GROOM NEWS-Page 7
- Thursday, May 15,1986
News From Alanreed
The L.T. Goldstons made a
trip to Fort Worth last week-
end.
Visiting Lena Carter last
week were Mr. and Mrs. Jim
Bruce, David and Shelby of
Amarillo.
Visiting Rose Hall on Sun- Visiting the R.L. Leeders
day was Beth Sharp of Clar- : recently were daughter
endon. She and Rose and Sharon and family of Claren-
Mr. and Mrs. Billy Bob don.
Adams went out to lunch to
celebrate Mother’s Day.
Visiting Rose Hall on Sat-
urday was son Jack from
Clarendon.
Jewel Warner and Hiram
Rollins were in Pampa on
business Thursday.
Visiting Jewel Warner last
week were niece Marcelle
and family of Amarillo.
Visiting the Hartley Davis’ Ruth Carter of Pampa and
on Sunday were Mr. and Vickie Bryant and Wesley of
Mrs. Forrest Brent and Lisa, Amarillo visited Lena Carter
Mr. and Mrs. John Davis and on Sunday. They went to
Ross of Amarillo and Mr. and Greenbelt Lake in the after-
Mrs. Willis May and daugh- noon where they met Lena’s
ter Debbie and children from son Jerry and Sammy Bry-
Panhandle.
ant.
Betty Finley and Nell
Keese made a trip to Sham-
rock on Thursday.
Nita McKee had her child-
ren home for Mother’s Day.
Senator Bill Sarpalius
Reports
REFORM STILL A MIXED BAG
new Automatic
Hearing Aid
Mike Clarke of Clarke Hearing
Aid Service will be available on
May 21st in McLean at the Texas.
Panhandle Community Service Office
at 201 N. Main from 2 P.M. to 4 P.M.
For District Clerk:
MARY CLARK*
REPUBLICAN PARTY
For County Judge:
CARL KENNEDY*
For County Clerk:
CAROL PEET
Don Miller
Radiator Service
-Free Hearing Test
■ Free Clean & Adjustments
■ Free in Home Test & Service
is Our Business
Not a Sideline
New & Rebuilt Radiators
Gas Tanks & Heaters
Repaired
Call or come by 779-2865
Clarke Hearing Aid Service
4215 W. 21st Amarillo, Tx. 79106
806 - 353-9718
612 S. Jefferson
Amarillo Texas
376-6666
AUSTIN — Almost two years
have passed since the Texas Legis-
lature passed House Bill 72, the
controversial education reform
package, and the turmoil that sur-
rounds the bill still has not sub-
sided.
Teachers are angry because H.B.
72 required them to take a com-
petency test. Administrators are
angry because they feel the bill
stripped them of some local con-
trol. Parents are angry because their
children are being excluded from
certain school activities because of
failing grades.
The anger the bill has generated
has manifested itself in many
ways — lawsuits, protests, increased
political involvement among educa-
tors. The list is endless.
With education reform so much
in the news, it occurred to us that
the time is right to review just what
H.B. 72 did and what the future
holds for the reform movement.
H.B. 72 essentially did four
things. -It restructured the way
Texas allocates money to local
school districts, granted teachers a
pay raise while at the same time
placing new requirements on them,
changed subtly the way elementary
students are educated and raised
the standards' expected of Texas
school children.
While the new requirements of
teachers and expectations of stu-
dents have caused the most contro-
versy, it is the restructuring of
school finance that may be H.B.
72’s biggest contribution to Texas
education.
H.B. 72 recognized once and for
all that some school districts have a
larger property tax base than others
and therefore can generate more
money locally. The bill created a
new fund allocation system that
gives the poorer school districts
more money, That extra money
means the poorer districts now can
offer the same quality education
given students in’the wealthier dis-
tricts.
District 31 had enjoyed the bene-
fits of that new system as much as
any area of the state. We recently
reviewed Texas Education Agency
and Legislative Budget Board fig-
ures that indicated a majority of
our 89 school districts have re-
ceived more money as a result of
H.B. 72.
Those same figures also indicated
payroll expenditures increased by
more than 15 percent for a vast
majority of those 89 districts. Less
than 20 districts had increases of
less than 10 percent and almost half
the districts had payroll increases
of more than 20 percent.
Teachers, it seems, did get a pay
raise in the Panhandle and on the,
South Plains.
While those figures indicate there
was quite a bit of good in H.B. 72,
it’s important to recognize there
was bad as well. The bill created a
teacher competency test that has
numerous problems. It created
a no-pass, no-play rule that needs
to be modified if it is to be effec-
tive.
H.B. 72 also eliminated needed
discipline options for school ad-
ministrators and left teachers sad-
dled with too much paperwork.
We’ve recognized those problems,
and we’ve worked hard to correct
them. During the last legislative
session, we worked with our fellow
senators to pass a bill that would
have corrected the discipline and
paperwork problems created by
H.B. 72. That bill unfortunately
was killed in the House.
At the same time, we introduced
legislation that potentially would
have shortened the no-pass, no-play
suspension period. We came within
a few votes of having our no-pass,
no-play plan adopted by the
Senate.
Obviously, we were disappointed
our attempts to reform the reforms
fell short, but we haven’t given up.
■ We’re determined to address disci-
pline, paperwork and no-pass, no-
play again next session. And, after
we took the competency test last
month, we also called on our col-
leagues to consider changes there
as well.
The last chapter of Texas’ educa-
tion reform work clearly has yet to
be written. We believe most law-
makers recognize there is more
work to be done. Still, we think
that as the bad in reform is being
eliminated, it is important to recog-
nize the good that H.B. 72 has
done.
If you have any qustions about
education reform and where it’s
headed, please write us at P.O. Box
12068, Austin, Texas, 78711.
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The Groom News (Groom, Tex.), Vol. 57, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 15, 1986, newspaper, May 15, 1986; Groom, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1706418/m1/7/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Carson County Library.