The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 64, No. 18, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 1, 1980 Page: 1 of 8
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The North Texas Daily
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1980
NORTH TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY, DENTON TEXAS
64TH YEAR NO. 18
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Secretary files complaint
alleging unfair wages
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Photo by MARK WILLIAMS
THAT LONELY FEELING—A lone spectator sits in the
Fouts Field bleachers during the soccer match between
the Mean Green and Austin College. Although the team
recently ranked in the top 20 teams nationally, head
coach Richard Lowe said that attendance at games has
averaged about 200 people
Phone charges increase
By TERR I BANNING
Staff Writer
Beginning today, monthly residential
and business telephone rates will be in-
creased to enable General Telephone
Co. of the Southwest to collect $31 mil-
lion additional revenue allowed by the
Texas Public Utilities Commission in
August.
One-party residential phone rates will
go from $6.85 per month to at least
$9.25, Jean Ryon, public information
manager for GTE's headquarters in San
Angelo, said Tuesday.
The new residential rates include a
$8.15 charge for local service plus ad-
ditional charges for phones rented from
the telephone company, Ms. Ryon said.
The least expensive telephone is a dial,
table-top phone which will rent for $1.10
per month.
The $6.85 total previously paid by
Denton customers included both
telephone rental and local service.
"The monthly charge is for the
privilege of having access to the
telephone network plus any equipment
leased from the telephone company,"
Ms. Ryon said.
Rates for one-party business lines will
go from $16.70 for local service and
telephone rental, to $23.00 for local ser-
vice plus an additional charge for
telephone rental.
GTE originally asked the PUC for a
$35 million increase in revenue, but a $4
million penalty was levied on the com-
pany following an investigation by the
commission staff that said it was
"ludricous for the company to say its
service is good, acceptable, or even
slightly deficient."
"What the PUC said was that if the
service was what it should be,we (GTE)
would get $35 million," Ms. Ryon said.
"I cannot say where that $4 million
would come from — whether it would
be additional cents added onto the ac-
cess rate or onto equipment rental. I just
know that we would be allowed to get
the additional money," she said.
The PUC ordered another investiga-
tion of GTE begin Feb. I to determine if
the company is complying with service
standards.
If service has not improved, the PUC
can begin a new hearing to determine
what action to take against GTE. If it
has improved, the PUC will consider
eliminating the $4 million penalty.
Ms. Ryon said GTE officials expect
the penalty to be removed because the
company has made improvements in its
operation and services.
"The commission said that in
February they would investigate what
our service levels are and see if we are
meeting their service levels and stan-
dards," Ms. Ryon said. "The company
is saying we will meet those service rates
and standards or we will at least have
them moving upward."
To meet the standards, Ms. Ryon said
GTE has increased their maintenance
budget by $25 million, including an in-
crease in the number of service person-
nel. "We are spending over whatever our
original budget was to increase service to
the customers. This includes the number
of repairmen and technicians," she said.
Three service standards the PUC said
GTE was not meeting were the amount
of time taken to complete phone instal-
lations and the frequency in which ser-
vice order commitments are met.
This was the first time in the commis-
sion's five-year history that a telephone
company was penalized.
BY KAREN BAI.I.
Staff Writer
An NT secretary and her attorney are
scheduled to meet with university of-
ficials Tuesday to discuss a complaint
she filed with the Dallas Equal Employ-
ment Opportunity Office charging un-
fair pay practices and retaliation.
Veda Sherman, a senior Physical
Plant secretary, filed the complaint in
June based on the Illegal Pay Act. She
further alleges university employees con-
spired to discredit her employment
record.
Mrs. Sherman and her attorney,
Michael Whitten, will meet with Univer-
sity Attorney Richard Rafes, Vice Presi-
dent for Administrative Affairs A1
Hurley, and an Equal Employment Op-
portunity Commission officer, Hurley
said.
Named in the complaint are James
Simpkins, accountant for the Physical
Plant; Delbert Overstreet, Physical Plant
director; and Hal Wilkerson, Physical
Plant assistant director.
NAMES ADDED to the complaint in
August in connection with charges of
retaliation are Alton Thibodeaux, NT
equal opportunity officer; Judy Stewart,
assistant equal opportunity officer; and
Joann Dunn, personnel specialist.
Mrs. Sherman, who has worked for
NT for 14 years, said she was harrassed
by university personnel after her name
was released by the EEOC under her
authorization, and that Thibodeaux,
Mrs. Stewart and Mrs, Dunn conspired
with other university employees to dis-
credit her employment record.
Dallas EEOC spokesman Frank Fritz
would not confirm or deny whether Mrs.
Sherman's case was under investigation.
Thibodeaux and Hurley refused com-
ment.
Mrs. Sherman said she has carried out
purchasing duties for the Physical Plant
since 1975, but was paid as a senior
secretary.
"I kept asking for raises. They
(Overstreet) promised me if I would
learn purchasing that thty would com-
pensate me for it and give me a title. I
felt like after five years they weren't go-
ing to do anything. I have been here for
14 years. I went through every channel
at North Texas. (NT's office of) Equal
Opportunity didn't help me, personnel
didn't help me. I received no help from
anyone here," she said,
SHE SAID Overstreet told her he
does not remember promising the
promotion.
Mrs. Sherman said NTowes her nearly
two years of pay she said she would have
received as a purchasing agent in the
Physical Plant. She said she cannot re-
quest five years of back wages because
the EEOC can only investigate the past
two years.
If the EEOC rules in favor of Mrs.
Sherman, she could be given a go-ahead
to sue the university.
Mrs. Sherman said she filed her com-
plaint with the Dallas EEOC office May
12, and went on vacation from July 14 to
July 18. On her return, Mrs. Sherman al-
leges, Simpkins, her supervisor, called
her into a meeting and asked her to sign
a counseling memo.
The memo listed complaints against
her work, she said, including a com-
plaint about where she took her coffee
break.
"I told him (Simpkins) I knew the
reason all of this came about was
because they had found out that I was
the one that filed with the EEOC," she
said.
THE COUNSELING memo had the
word "warning" checked at the top of
the note, and it stated she would be
monitored closely, she said. Employees
are usually given verbal warnings by
their supervisors, which may be followed
by written warnings, she said.
Mrs. Sherman said she sent a letter to
Simpkins asking for specific reasons for
the complaints. Simpkins then dropped
the complaints, she said. Mrs. Sherman
said she plans to pursue the matter
because she said she had a clean employ-
ment record before the receipt of the
counseling memo.
Thibodeaux, Mrs. Stewart and Mrs.
Dunn were present when the counseling
memo was drafted August 9, Mrs.
Sherman said.
"That was highly improper. These
people are supposed to see that the
rights of employees are protected," she
said.
Mrs. Sherman said for the last 14 years
she has received merit raises, which are
granted to employees who do out-
standing work. This year she did not
receive one she said.
"I found out through channels I was
put in for one in the budget. When it gets
to Mr. Overstreet, he decides whether
you get a raise or not. The final decision
is his," she said.
Dr. Vandiver appoints VP
The appointment of Dr. Howard
Smith as vice president for academic af-
fairs completes President Frank Van-
diver's administrative staff.
Announced by Dr. Vandiver Friday,
the decision was based on a recommen-
dation made by a special committee of
the Faculty Senate. Dr. Smith had
served as acting vice president for
academic affairs since July 1979
"Dr. Vandiver suggested that we form
a committee and discuss removing the
word acting from Dr. Smith's title, and
that's what we acted on," Dr. J.B. Small-
wood, chairman of the senate said.
The committee, composed of one
member from each senatorial district, in-
terviewed Dr Smith for three hours last
week in a closed session. The recommen-
dation of the committee was approved
by the senate 27-10.
"Dr. Vandiver wanted Dr. Smith to
remain but did not want to simply make
that appointment without some
reference on how the faculty felt about
this, so he chose this method," Dr.
Smallwood said.
Dr. Smith said he was pleased with the
way the decision was made. "I feel like
the support of the faculty gives me the
assurance that I can speak at the ad-
ministrative level with a stronger voice
than I would have been able to do if I
had not had that support," he said.
Dr. Smith, 51, came to NT as assistant
professor of education in 1961 and
served as acting dean of the College of
Education from 1972 to 1973. He was
associate vice president for academic af-
fairs 1976-79.
Dr. Smith holds a bachelor's degree
from Southwest Missouri State College,
and master's and doctoral degrees from
the University of Missouri.
He has researched methods of
improving teacher education, including
the development of a microteaching
laboratory — a miniature classroom
where performance of student teachers
could be observed, videotaped and
evaluated at NT.
Dr. Vandiver said he is happy to have
Dr. Smith as part of his administration
"He combines continuity of experience
with fresh ideas," he said. "I look
forward to a continuing association
with him."
Few undocumented students register
Districts record slow admission rate for new pupils
By The Associated Press
State officials said earlier this year
that enrolling undocumented students
would flood Texas schools with tens of
thousands of alien children, but so far
the new pupils are only trickling in.
"Indications are the figure given by
the state might have been inflated
badly," San Antonio assistant
superintendent Joe Nick Garza said
Tuesday.
"We had information there would be
a great number. We were very concerned
this was true, but had no documentation
either way," he said.
Heavily Hispanic San Antonio has ad-
mitted 396 undocumented youngsters to
its schools. On the Texas-Mexico
border, El Paso school districts have
enrolled 550, and about 350 alien
children have registered in Brownsville.
DURING LAST summer's court test
of the state law banning the children of
illegal aliens from free public schools,
state officials estimated that 120,000 un-
documented children lived in Texas.
U.S. District Judge Woodrow Seals of
Houston rejected that figure, saying that
20,000 was a more realistic number. And
in July, Seals struck down the school
ban.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis
Powell ordered districts Sept. 4 to admit
the children pending an appeal of Seals'
ruling.
Some administrators are sticking by
their early high estimates. In Dallas,
school spokesman Rodney Davis said
his office was "swamped with calls" im-
mediately after the ruling, and he gues-
sed that "5,000 to 6,000" would enroll.
After two weeks, 873 youngsters had
signed up for classes in 87 Dallas
schools.
Robby Collins, a school administrator
in Dallas, said he still expects enrollment
to hit 5,000 — especially if large
numbers of migrants settle in Dallas for
the winter.
Houston admissions are running right
on schedule, according to spokesman
Geri Konisberg. At the time of the
Powell ruling, superintendent Billy
Reagan estimated that 2,000 to 2,500
pupils would enroll immediately, with
5,000 finally going to school.
Miss Konisberg said Tuesday that
about 2,700 undocumented children are
taking classes now.
H.K. Henley, supervisor of transfers
and eligibility of the Austin Independent
School District, said as of Sept. 22 a
total of 88 illegal alien students had
enrolled in the school district which has
55,352 students.
"We pick up a few all along," said
Henley.
HE SAID he had expected about 75 il-
legal aliens to attend Austin schools.
Tom Keller, a spokesman for the
Brownsville schools, said that "a little
over 350" illegal aliens had been enrol-
led, with "more waiting for processing,"
Keller said Brownsville educators had
never estimated the number of un-
documented students who would
register, because the nearness of
Matamoros, Mexico to the border city
made estimates meaningless.
"The potential could go up into the
thousands," he said. "But as far as how
many will actually enroll — your guess
is as good as mine."
Brownsville school superintendent
Raul Besteiro had said immediately after
the Supreme Court ruling that his
schools "didn't have the facilities to take
care of more than 200 or 300 new
students." Keller said Tuesday that clas-
ses were "going to be very crowded."
Denton ISD claims no illegal aliens
Schooling costs $1,846 per child
By BARBARA CORDRAY
Daily Reporter
If the child of an illegal alien attended
a Denton school, the cost to taxpayers
would be $1,846, said Dr. Robert
McGee, Denton Independent School
District superintendent.
The $1,846 figure is the estimated cost
for the education of any student in
Denton for one year, Dr. McGee said.
"The Attorney General of Texas in-
structed us that we are duty bound to
enroll illegal aliens, but none have been
enrolled in this area so far," Dr. McGee
said.
"The records are not perfectly clear
(as to whether or not any illlegal aliens
are enrolled)," Dr. McGee said. "The
only time that we require a birth cer-
tificate, which shows proof of
citizenship, is when the child is
registered for kindergarten,"
"After the kindergarten year, all we
need to register a child is the transcript
from his past school, which doesn't
necessarily prove citizenship," he said.
All children from 6 to 17 years old are
under the compulsory school law. "Any
child who will be 6 years old on or
before the first of September must be
enrolled, but the school is open to the
child until the age of 21," he said.
"The only requirements they must
meet are that they must be a resident of
Denton and their parents must pay tax-
es," he said. "A person is qualified as a
resident on the day that he moves into
Denton. There is no set amount of time
he must have lived here before he can be
enrolled in school."
"As for the taxes, anyone who owns
any type of property or is renting an
apartment or house, or even buys things
in the stores, pays state and local taxes,
so there is little question of qualifying on
this ground," he said.
Most of the problems with the
registration of illegal aliens have been in
areas closer to the border and in larger
towns such as Fort Worth and Dallas,
Dr. McGee said. "There really have
been no problems here. We have no
records of any illegal aliens in the area."
"Wc (the school boaid) could take ac-
tion against any illegal aliens who have
not registered their children. We could
take them to federal court and have
them prosecuted. Enforcing this would
be difficult, because people move
around a lot. We can't force them to stay
here and register their children," he said.
"This only happens as a rare excep-
tion, though. It's a lot more likely that
the parents will try to register the
children while they are still too young
for school," he said.
Debating candidates
support tuition boost
By CAROL RUST
Staff Writer
Although they met to debate Tues-
day, candidate for state represen-
tative District 25 Jim Horn and in-
cumbent W. Tip Hall Jr., appeared to
agree on most issues, including in-
creased college tuition and adding a
student ex officio position to the
Board of Regents.
During the debate in the Univer-
sity Union's One O'Clock Lounge,
Horn said Texas' low tuition rates
ptovidc out-o.-state students the op-
portunity to take advantage of Texas
taxpayers.
However, he said he would like to
sec a state loan program made
available for college students to com-
pensate for the higher rates.
Hall said although he opposed tui-
tion increases for medical and dental
schools, he advocated a 100 percent
out-of-state tuition increase. "In fact,
I don't care if they raised it more than
that," he said.
Hall said under the present tuition
rates, students can go to school in
Texas and pay an out-of-state tuition
that is lower than tuition in their
home states.
He said that in instances where a
student's family has moved to Texas,
but has not established residency yet,
a student should not have to pay out-
of-state tuition. He suggested a
screening committee to ensure no one
is deprived an education because of
out-of-state tuition.
He said an increase would limit ac-
cess to medical and dental education
to wealthier students, but that there
should he a system of reimbursement
to the state once the students are in
professional practice.
The candidates agreed revenue
from increased tuition should be used
for increasing faculty salaries.
They agreed a student should serve
on the Board of Regents. Hail said
the student should serve in an ex
officio capacity to represent students'
views and improve communication
between the board and the student
body.
Horn added the board should
decide whether the student should
vote.
Horn rebuted Hall's statement that
he voted on House Joint Resolution
2, which would have allowed in-
itiative and referendum on state is-
sues.Horn said his records indicated
Hall had voted against it the first
time it came up for vote and had ab-
stained the second time it was before
the Texas House.
However, Hall said he was
"pledged to vote for it" if it came up
in the next legislative session,
although he believed initiative and
referendum should be reserved for
state issues. He said the special dis-
tricts should be allowed initiative and
referendum.
Horn said he would support the
abolishment of the 5-cent road-use
tax for gasohol users, but said gas-
ohol is hot the answer to the energy
shortage. "The answer." he said, "is
for the government to release a string
of regulations on gasoline "
"We really don't have an energy
problem, except for the government
restrictions on industry," he said
Calling the windfall profits tax the
<*or«t tax in the history of the United
States, he advocated "tax incentives
(for oiJ companies) for more explora-
tion, development and research."
He said oil companies should be
taxed if they don't use their profits
for research and development.
Hall said Horn's stand on oil com-
pany taxation "should say something
about where he gets his support."
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Whitehead, Mike. The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 64, No. 18, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 1, 1980, newspaper, October 1, 1980; Denton, TX. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth332513/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.