The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 131, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 10, 2006 Page: 1 of 12
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1
I
A place of her own
Albany graduate Kilie Holson, who was bom
with cerebral palsy, is about to embark on
another phase of her own personal journey
with the opening of an ice cream shop.
See story, pg. 5
■v
Record numbers
*
Local football and volleyball coaches report
record numbers of athletes out for both
sports, with the girls' first scrimmage set this
Saturday and the boys starting Aug. 19.
See story, pg. 7
The
Albany News
"Oldest Journalistic Venture West of the Brazos
//
Thursday, August 10, 2006, Albany, Texas 76430
12 Pages in 1 Section
Volume Number 131 Number 11 Price 7s<l
_
NSES earns exemplary, district recognized
Ratings of Texas schools were
announced last week, with the
Albany district as a whole mov-
ing back up a notch to "recog-
nized" from the "academically
acceptable" rating of the previ-
ous year.
The annual ratings are issued
by the Texas Education Agency
based primarily on student per-
formance on the Texas Assess-
ment of Knowledge and Skills
(TAKS) administered in the
spring, along with other factors.
Nancy Smith Elementary
achieved "exemplary" status for
the 2005-2006 school year, while
the secondary campus was "aca-
demically acceptable." The dis-
trict overall was rated in be-
tween with the "recognized" clas-
sification.
"I'm proud of both campuses
and what's been achieved over
the past school year," com-
mented Supt. Shane Fields. 'The
elementary staff met the chal-
lenge to get back to exemplary,
and even though the secondary
campus didn't move up in the
ratings, the figures were better
overall. We just,missed being
'recognized' by a couple of sub-
groups.
"There were definite gains
made, even with the higher state
standards, so we're making
strides in the right direction."
'Exemplary' Elementary
The Nancy Smith Elementary
campus regained its status as
an exemplary school for the 10th
time in 12 years. Only seven
percent of all schools in the state
STATE SUMMARY OF DISTRICT & CAMPUS RATINGS
ACCOUNTABILITY RATING
ALL DISTRICTS
ALL CAMPUSES
Count
Percent
Count
Percent
EXEMPLARY
19
1.5%
555
7.0%
RECOGNIZED
330
26.9%
2,825
35.5%
ACADEMICALLY ACCEPTABLE
810
66.0%
3,565
44.8%
ACADEMICALLY UNACCEPTABLE
62
5.1%
321
4.0%
NOT RATED: OTHER
6
.5%
690
8.7%
achieved the exemplary rating
'for 2006.
A school must have at least
90 percent of the students pass
each section of the test in order
for the campus to receive the
highest ranking.
"We are very excited," said
NSES principal Doyleen Terrell.
"Our science scores kept us from
being exemplary last year, and
the staff has worked extremely
hard to improve that area."
The percentage of NSES fifth
grade students who passed the
science portion of the TAKS in-
creased significantly from 73
percent last year to 91 percent
this year, even though state stan-
dards were raised.
lvelav
w
fmLife
Doris Westray (I)
helps )on Rex
jones (c) and
Gayla Leech
register as
activities get
underway Friday
evening for this
year's Relay For
Life fundraiser.
About $30,000
was netted at
the 2006 event.
Cancer fundraiser
brings in $30,000
Organizers of the American
Cancer Society's 2006 Relay For
Life are hoping to net a total of
$30,000 after expenses, signifi-
cantly surpassing their $25,000
goal to help in the fight against
cancer.
This year's annual fund-
raiser was held last Friday
night at Robert Nail Stadium,
with nine teams and dozens of
other volunteers and specta-
tors attending.
A total of $32,433 has al-
ready been counted, and with
less than $2,500 expected in
the final expenses, co-chair
Cindy Parsons is expecting a
record year.
The local Relay for Life unit
brought in $26,119 last sum-
mer and $15,793 the previous
year.
"It keeps growing every year,
and all we can say is 'thank
you'," said Parsons.
A wrap-up/awards meeting
has tentatively been set for
Monday, August 28 at Friend-
ship Baptist Church, with the
time to be announced. All team
Donnie Lucas / Albany News
■aiSI SOCIETY KCLAYFOS
-
Donnie Lucas / Albany News
Participants at the 2006 Relay For Life sign the "Wall of Hope" prior to the opening
ceremony and Survivors Lap at this year's American Cancer Society fundraiser.
members and other participants
are encouraged to attend.
Relay Review
Although it was hot and dry,
the weather cooperated much bet-
ter than in the previous two years.
Last year, rain threatened un-
til just before the opening cer-
emony, and then a cricket inva-
sion forced an early end to the
activities.
In 2004, the Relay was origi-
nally scheduled in April and
(See Relay For Life, pg. 2)
Formal registration for local
students is over, but school offi-
cials expect to be giving out
schedules and information until
the time classes begin at 8:00
a.m. next Monday, August 14.
Late registration at both lo-
cal school campuses is continu-
ing this week, with special meet-
ings for elementary and junior
high students and their parents
set for Thursday night, August
10. More information about
those sessions is available in
other articles in this week's pa-
per.
When classes begin the next
Monday, there will be opening
assemblies at both the elemen-
tary and secondary levels, to
which parents are also invited.
Still Trickling In
At press time, there were still
a few students at all levels who
had not yet shown up to regis-
ter.
"We thought we had just about
everyone enrolled, but we've had
some calls from parents in the
last few days, so we're expecting
a few more," said Nancy Smith
Elementary School Principal
Doyleen Terrell. "We would re-
ally appreciate it if those par-
ents could come by the office and
enroll their students before next
Monday."
Tommy Terrell, principal at
Albany High School/Albany Jun-
ior High School, echoed that sen-
timent. "We always have kids
who don't make it in here during
the registration schedule, but it
really makes things go easier if
students will show up sometime
before classes start."
Mr. Terrell added that sched-
ules can not be modified during
the school days. Students must
see him or Assistant Principal
Andy Wilson before or after
school hours in order to change a
schedule. "And we will not
change any schedules, period,
after the first week of school."
Enrollment Appraisals
Even though preliminary fig-
ures were not yet available and
there are several enrollments
still pending, local administra-
tors are fairly optimistic about
the fall attendance estimates.
Albany ISD started the 2005
school year with 581 students,
and although figures are ex-
pected to be down slightly at the
elementary level this year, the
secondary student population
looks to be fairly stable for the
upcoming year.
At the junior high level, Mr.
Terrell is counting around 95
students, while he anticipates
that there will be about 190 in
(See School year, pg. 2)
The TAKS test replaced the
TAAS exams three years ago
and the passing standard is be-
ing raised each year as students
adjust to the more difficult test-
ing.
"Science is not tested until
the fifth grade" said Mrs. Ter-
rell, "but the test represents a
culmination of what students are
taught at the third, fourth and
fifth grade Jevels. It requires a
vertical terai plan, which the
teachers began implementing
after we got the TAKS scores
last year. I want to commend all
the teachers for working to-
gether to make a drastic im-
provement in this area."
The elementary principal
noted that 100 percent of the
special education students who
took the SDA test met expecta-
tions.
Secondary Rating
The junior high/high school
campus was again rated "aca-
demically acceptable."
While the district noted over-
all improvement in all five areas
tested during the last year de-
spite the increase in the test
standard, students at the sec
ondary level scored lower than
70 percent in several subgroups.
The subgroups categorize stu-
dents as African American, His-
panic, White or Economically
Disadvantaged and list those
results separately.
Overall, local math scores im-
proved from 71 percent last year
J
(See State ratings, pg. 2)
COMMISSIONERS COURT
49.99tf tax rate proposed
after county budget talks
Rate lower than 2005,
but 1 ^ below rollback
to support $2M budget
By Melinda L. Lucas
Extensive discussion during
a budget workshop and special
meeting on Monday, August 7
resulted in a unanimous deci-
sion by the Shackelford County
Commissioners to propose a
seven percent increase in the
tax levy.
The proposed tax rate, al-
though it is set about one cent
lower than the rollback rate, will
be considerably less than last
year's actual rate because of the
$54 million increase in the
county tax base.
Last year's tax rate of 56.12
cents generated $1,209 million.
By placing the current rate at
49.99 cents, with the added valu-
ation, the commissioners hope
to collect about $1,294 million,
almost $85,000 more than last
year's levy.
By increasing the tax revenue,
the county officials plan to be
able to raise the salary steps for
employees by at least five per-
cent, as well as increase the
deputies' salaries.
The higher rate will also cover
significantly increased fuel and
utility costs.
County Judge Ross Montgom-
ery stated that the Sheriffs Of-
fice needs a new car in order to
continue 24-hour patrols, and
the County Constable has also
requested a new vehicle.
The decision to propose the
49.99-cent tax rate was made at
the end of the Monday morning
budget workshop, during which
the commissioners cut thou-
sands out of the preliminary
budget figures.
"We were about $40,000 over
budget when we started, and
after the changes we made and
the ones Sherry (Enloe) has
made since, we have the differ-
ence down to about $6,000," said
Montgomery.
The commissioners continued
working on the budget Wednes-
day morning, but results of the
workshop weren't available at
press time.
County Treasurer Sherry
Enloe expected the finished bud-
get to be somewhere in the neigh-
borhood of $2 million, compared
with the $1.93 budget adopted
at this time last year.
Montgomery stated that the
county officials hope to adopt
both the budget and the tax rate
at a meeting on August 28 after
complying with required notices
and public hearings.
The two required public hear-
ings are scheduled on August 21
and August 24, both beginning
at 9:00 a.m.
Classes get underway Monday
Donnie Lucas / Albany News
Albany teachers and staff members pick up various forms to
sign and information to file as they start their first official day
of inservice Tuesday morning.
fi
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Lucas, Melinda L. The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 131, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 10, 2006, newspaper, August 10, 2006; Albany, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth413265/m1/1/?q=%22~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Old Jail Art Center.