Thursday, September 17, 2009
CAN CCISD'S SCHOOL BOARD CAROL SCOTT (WHO IS BENG PAID BY LAS BRISAS ENERGY) CONTINUE TO BE A "TRUSTEE" OF OUR CHILDREN? [Facebook discussion]
(To participate in this dicussion, join facebook.com and add homervillarreal@gmail as a friend. The following is an truncated abridgement of the discussion on the above mentioned issue:
Homer Villarreal
CCISD’s John Longoria just reported that Tomas Duran was a consult for CCISD, but has left. I understand (and again) I am prudently generalizing from John’s update that Thomas Duran now (who is tied in with all the big time insurances like Entrust) is free and legally able to bid on the CCISD Health Insurance. .. I believe that when they go out for insurance (from sources, I believe) will be between Carol’s buddies – Art Granato and Thomas Duran.
Homer Villarreal
WATCH CAREFULLY... Read More…Another question to ask is: “Did the Scotts use ‘La Brisas’’ money to get a new American Federation of Teachers President? I hear Art Granato donated to him also… I am just connecting the dots. Jeff Kane did comment on our board that it was “gray area” … his word was ‘leveraging”… Rene Saenz who sits on the Health Insurance Committee feels that the pressure that will be excerted by different parties will be fierce. So the new AFT president was handpicked by Carol so to speak, if the info is true.
Mark A. Di Carlo
Homer: McMurrey show, AFT President, is on my Voices show on Friday at 10:00 P.M. (On my webcite also) But I do not get it, are you inferring you campaign for the job as Union President and raise money to do it? Maybe so . . . . might have been a good subject.
Carolyn Moon
The new AFT president is a member of the CEC. send me an e-mail later.
Amadora Zapata
Yeah, AFT was the Scott's project according to my sources. They are eroding the credibility of our community: the SCOTTS.
Homer Villarreal
Homer Villarreal: " A regional government, for protecting the agenda and whims of a wife of a city councilman only, is but a carcass, and soon falls by its own CORRUPTION and decay."
Debbie Allen
There is a beauty to a cat fight; because it stems from the soul of a woman. Carol has to go!!! Yeah, the truth of her evil does not seem to matter to her, only the way she chooses to interpret it. But it is survival of a fitness. We are being taken by her, and I am sure not gonna, not gonna put up with it.
Rene Saenz
Amadora, "AFT is the scott's project" what are you inferring? I'm a member of AFT and there was no project there. In fact, I talked to Ray, the new prez, the entire time during his campaign. In fact, in the beginning we were trying to decide who should run, me or him. In the end, I deferred since I had other projects going on. I believe your source... Read More/sources are all wrong. I'm the ultimate source on this issue. But we agreed on one thing, the past president had to go. If you really want the inside, I know it all.
Amadora Zapata
I respectfully disagree Mr. Saenz...and for you to believe that the ultimate source was yourself in re: to the "Carol"/Kailo connection (implied) on the "Las Brisas dollars" (in addition to the Art Granato 's/lobbying interests in this matter) - is quite delusional, and to venture beyond the bucket of this complex issue and investigation by myself... Read More and ours in the region. To question me(or anyone here), is a matter of credibility. But be forewarned, You are welcome to post, but to admonish if "you have a dog in the fight" there are the consequences. If you are participating especially in defense of a party in question, the AFT PREST. or SCOTT's hand in this matter, you become fare game. With that said let's begin.
Mr. Saenz you were not the main source. You sit on the board that will be instrumental in later being used to justify awarding the "Health Insurance" bid contract. The board you sit on will be the raison d'etre for the Scotts (continued in another posting).
33 minutes ago • Delete
Amadora Zapata
It does not take a rocket scientist to see the "project" or "connection" between the AFT post and Carol Scott! The former AFT president took a position against "Las Brisas." But then again before proceeding, abiding by the rules of fair play, and the audience following this "connecting-the-dots" progression and story, I have to ask you sir, "Do you have a dog in this fight?" Admit it if there is, if not it will surface believe you me.
Amadora Zapata
I don't think you are being fully straight forward. Your version might just be sectarian view of the a road of intricate paths and bypaths. You are welcome to email me and share what your experience in attempting to unseat the former President. It is my duty to listen to all parties so as to not only be fair, but responsible in piecing the final view.
15 minutes ago • Delete
Amadora Zapata
What makes this so unethical Mr. Saenz is the fact that Carol Scott (is/and was being paid by "Las Brisas" an enormous salary. The former president was merely trying to be a voice for the children (adocating for the right cause) was slaughtered by a high-paid, unethical party who happened to be the President of CCISD board. She was being paid (thousands of dollars)as Prest. of the CCISD board to stifle someone who was taking against her client (LAS BRISAS). He as just trying to be a voice for the kids (in this particular issue). As far as where he stood on the school politics also, despite how controversial and different from our view, should not have been suppressed by a corporation promoting "breathing black smoke" (as Carolyn Moon put it) and paying a public official to sell out (Carol Scott/Kailo) thousands of dollars.
How could Carol Scott Scott advocate for our children, if she taking a hefty paycheck from Las Brisas?
Rene Saenz
The former AFT president took no position. I was at that meeting when the motion was made. And guess who moved the motion to take the position against Las Brisas? I made the motion and argued forcefully for it. The motion passed unanimously. In fact the former President, who you defend, had a worker who was recorded as saying her personal beef was ... Read Morenot with the building of Las Brisas, her beef was with Scott. The motion was very clear, protect the students and teachers, not go on a personal crusade against an individual for personal reasons. I do not defend Scott's postion. That's hers to take. I don't agree with it. And yes I do sit on the board that will be dealing with the Health Insurance, the very insurance that covers me and my family. Personally I think humana stinks and I will be arguing that we move to the state insurance for teachers. Personally, I think the current president of AFT is much better than the previous one. I will not e-mail you to discuss AFT politics but you are
Rene Saenz
more than welcome to contact me. One more question...how does a Amadora Zapata, with blond hair and blue eyes, where a Wisconsin shirt rather than a TEXAS shirt? Be warned that we longhorns kick ass.
Homer Villarreal
THANKS FOR POSTING MR. SAENZ:
FACT: CCISD Board President CAROL SCOTT both is and was being paid by LAS BRISAS ENERGY.
FACT: SHE WAS BEING PAID TO ATTEMPT TO STOP CRITICISM OF LAS BRISAS, the former President was critical (and I did interviewed him at Taqueria Guadalajara in Annaville).
FACT: Then it logically follows that Carol Scott as a "public official" was a high-paid "Aggressor" by LAS BRISAS to eradicate disgruntled parties with Las Brisas. In short, the entire staff of CCISD was under the gun of a Chair of the board, Ms. Scott (remember, she is a public official who both took and is taking money from Las Brisas). The few that spoke up were targeted (via Las Brisas' dollars) and punished (via las Brisas' dollars).
FACT: Ms. Scott as Chair of CCISD School Board used CCISD Employees and buses and pupils to make TV commercials that earned her a lot of money.
FACT: Ms. Scott her leverage as chair to hire "Skip" Noe (who coordinated efforts and is piecing the road open for Las Brisas to established themselves with various municipal and an inter agency network). Note: Angel Escobar wished not to venture in the 'gray area" that the EDC and Carol Scott are espousing.
FACT: The new AFT President was stamped and endorsed by a corporate movement with multi-million dollars interests being represented by KAILO (formerly Scott Public Relations).
CCISD Board PRESIDENT is their high-paid face -- i.e., Las Brisas Energy. In fact send I dare you to send an email to Las Brisas Energy at www.lasbrisasenergy.com/contact.html -- while on their website hit the contact button: and guess who will receive the message in her cell phone and computer? YOU GOT IT RIGHT. CCISD BOARD PRESIDENT CAROL SCOTT. She is the gatekeeper and face of Las Brisas Energy in the area.
Homer Villarreal
This issue is a legal matter and Las Brisas Energy has no right to pay public officials to do their bidding in our schools and use "divide and conquer" tactics to hurt and punish anyone in the district (or the community) who is against the children breathing "black smoke" (as Carolyn Moon so poetically put it).
Posted by HOMERO VILLARREAL at 9:59 PM
1 comments:
herownself said...
To use my comments (not that I disavow) them, from the message section of Facebook is underhanded.
It makes one wonder whose water you're carrying, Miss Zamora.
September 19, 2009 4:21 PM
And the reason they can find all those drop out is because they are incarcerated ....duh. Like CCISD did not know! They put them there.
Guess Truant officers are lazy to do their JOB! Carol Scott cares about that crap organization Citizens "against law suit abuse" She Has abused her position for self gain and should be impeached or pay for the costs if it were you or me to produce the same exact commercial.
Showing posts with label Welder Leshin And Mahaffey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Welder Leshin And Mahaffey. Show all posts
Monday, September 21, 2009
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
As Neeley Leaves TEA, Report Says Perry Crony Commits Cronyism
Posted in Had Enough Yet?, Education, Around The State at 9:17 am by wcnews
Here’s the AAS story about this from yesterday, Report cites problems with TEA contract, it also include a link to the report.
Associates and former employees of high-ranking officials at the Texas Education Agency have in recent years won pieces of contracts that were not competitively bid, according to a report from the agency’s inspector general.
The report, obtained by the American-Statesman on Wednesday, says that contracts went to education service centers, which serve as regional outposts for the state agency, and that the associates of agency officials received subcontracts.
The report does not explicitly state whether competitive bids should have been taken. Even when competitive bids are issued, agency staff members do not follow the agency’s contract policies, the report says.
Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley, who ordered the report after an agency employee raised questions in February, has turned it over to State Auditor John Keel, who is investigating further, agency spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe said.
Neeley who commissioned the report is being replaced by her second in command, and Perry Crony, Robert Scott who was “frequently cited” in the report. From today’s HChron, Perry stands by choice for TEA fill-in. Why wouldn’t he? That is, after all, what crony’s do for one another.
Gov. Rick Perry has no concerns about putting deputy commissioner Robert Scott temporarily in charge of the Texas Education Agency, the governor’s spokesman said Thursday, despite questions raised in an inspector general’s report detailing no-bid contracts that went to Scott’s friends.
“None. The governor has complete confidence that he will do his job with the utmost integrity and professionalism, just as he always has,” Perry spokesman Robert Black said.
Scott will lead the agency, which oversees public education for 4.5 million children attending Texas public schools, until Perry picks a permanent successor to Shirley Neeley, who left her job as commissioner this week after the governor decided not to reappoint her.
A former Perry aide, Scott previously led the agency between Neeley’s appointment and the departure of her predecessor, Felipe Alanis.
The inspector general’s report released Wednesday chronicled instances when contracts that were not competitively bid landed with Austin attorney Emily Miller, described in the report as a friend of Scott’s, or with his former executive assistant, Cory Rountree.
The report said it was often unclear how Scott’s friends got the work.
“Key participants in the contracting process do not agree as to how the subcontractors were chosen,” according to the report.
The inspector general’s report said the education agency failed to follow state contracting policy in awarding millions of dollars in competitive grants. It highlighted ambiguities in awarding grants from a $261 million partnership between the state and several private foundations for high school improvement.
Neeley commissions the report, that fingers the governor’s buddy and shortly before it’s release she’s “forced out” of her job.
Permalink
Here’s the AAS story about this from yesterday, Report cites problems with TEA contract, it also include a link to the report.
Associates and former employees of high-ranking officials at the Texas Education Agency have in recent years won pieces of contracts that were not competitively bid, according to a report from the agency’s inspector general.
The report, obtained by the American-Statesman on Wednesday, says that contracts went to education service centers, which serve as regional outposts for the state agency, and that the associates of agency officials received subcontracts.
The report does not explicitly state whether competitive bids should have been taken. Even when competitive bids are issued, agency staff members do not follow the agency’s contract policies, the report says.
Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley, who ordered the report after an agency employee raised questions in February, has turned it over to State Auditor John Keel, who is investigating further, agency spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe said.
Neeley who commissioned the report is being replaced by her second in command, and Perry Crony, Robert Scott who was “frequently cited” in the report. From today’s HChron, Perry stands by choice for TEA fill-in. Why wouldn’t he? That is, after all, what crony’s do for one another.
Gov. Rick Perry has no concerns about putting deputy commissioner Robert Scott temporarily in charge of the Texas Education Agency, the governor’s spokesman said Thursday, despite questions raised in an inspector general’s report detailing no-bid contracts that went to Scott’s friends.
“None. The governor has complete confidence that he will do his job with the utmost integrity and professionalism, just as he always has,” Perry spokesman Robert Black said.
Scott will lead the agency, which oversees public education for 4.5 million children attending Texas public schools, until Perry picks a permanent successor to Shirley Neeley, who left her job as commissioner this week after the governor decided not to reappoint her.
A former Perry aide, Scott previously led the agency between Neeley’s appointment and the departure of her predecessor, Felipe Alanis.
The inspector general’s report released Wednesday chronicled instances when contracts that were not competitively bid landed with Austin attorney Emily Miller, described in the report as a friend of Scott’s, or with his former executive assistant, Cory Rountree.
The report said it was often unclear how Scott’s friends got the work.
“Key participants in the contracting process do not agree as to how the subcontractors were chosen,” according to the report.
The inspector general’s report said the education agency failed to follow state contracting policy in awarding millions of dollars in competitive grants. It highlighted ambiguities in awarding grants from a $261 million partnership between the state and several private foundations for high school improvement.
Neeley commissions the report, that fingers the governor’s buddy and shortly before it’s release she’s “forced out” of her job.
Permalink
Friday, December 21, 2007
"Money, Money, Money, I love Money" ~ Mrs Feydo (Calk Elementary)
Unruly Students Facing Arrest, Not Detention
By SARA RIMER
Published: January 4, 2004
The 14-year-old girl arrived at school here on Oct. 17 wearing a low-cut midriff top under an unbuttoned sweater. It was a clear violation of the dress code, and school officials gave her a bowling shirt to put on. She refused. Her mother came to the school with an oversize T-shirt. She refused to wear that, too.
''It was real ugly,'' said the girl, whose mother did not want her to be identified.
It was a standoff. So the city police officer assigned to the school handcuffed the girl, put her in a police car and took her to the detention center at the Lucas County juvenile courthouse. She was booked on a misdemeanor charge and placed in a holding cell for several hours, until her mother, a 34-year-old vending machine technician, got off work and picked her up.
She was one of more than two dozen students in Toledo who were arrested in school in October for offenses like being loud and disruptive, cursing at school officials, shouting at classmates and violating the dress code. They had all violated the city's safe school ordinance.
In cities and suburbs around the country, schools are increasingly sending students into the juvenile justice system for the sort of adolescent misbehavior that used to be handled by school administrators. In Toledo and many other places, the juvenile detention center has become an extension of the principal's office.
School officials say they have little choice. ''The goal is not to put kids out, but to maintain classrooms free of disruptions that make it impossible for teachers to teach and kids to learn,'' said Jane Bruss, the spokeswoman for the Toledo public schools. ''Would we like more alternatives? Yes, but everything has a cost associated with it.''
Others, however, say the trend has gone too far.
''We're demonizing children,'' said James Ray, the administrative judge for the Lucas County juvenile court, who is concerned about the rise in school-related cases. There were 1,727 such cases in Lucas County in 2002, up from 1,237 in 2000.
Fred Whitman, the court's intake officer, said that only a handful of cases -- perhaps 2 percent -- were for serious incidents like assaulting a teacher or taking a gun to school. The vast majority, he said, involved unruly students.
In Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky and Florida, juvenile court judges are complaining that their courtrooms are at risk of being overwhelmed by student misconduct cases that should be handled in the schools.
Although few statistics are available, anecdotal evidence suggests that such cases are on the rise.
''Everybody agreed -- no matter what side of the system they're from -- that they are seeing increasing numbers of kids coming to court for school-based offenses,'' said Andy Block, who assisted in a 2001 study of Virginia's juvenile justice system by the American Bar Association's Juvenile Defender Center. ''All the professionals in the court system were very resentful of this. They felt they were being handed problems and students that the schools were better equipped to address.''
According to an analysis of school arrest data by the Advancement Project, a civil rights advocacy group in Washington, there were 2,345 juvenile arrests in 2001 in public schools in Miami-Dade County, Fla., nearly three times as many as in 1999. Sixty percent, the project said, were for ''simple assaults'' -- fights that did not involve weapons --and ''miscellaneous'' charges, including disorderly conduct.
Many of the court cases around the country involve special-education students whose behavior is often related to their disabilities, Mr. Block and others say.
In an elementary school in northeastern Pennsylvania, an 8-year-old boy in a special-education class was charged with disorderly conduct this fall for his behavior in a time-out room: urinating on the floor, throwing his shoes at the ceiling and telling a teacher, ''Kids rule.''
''Teachers and school administrators know now that they can shift these kids into juvenile court,'' said Marsha Levick, legal director for the Juvenile Law Center of Philadelphia, which is representing the boy and has asked that the charges be dismissed. ''The culture has shifted. Juvenile court is seen as an antidote for all sorts of behavior that in the past resulted in time out or suspension.''
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E3DD1431F937A35752C0A9629C8B63
By SARA RIMER
Published: January 4, 2004
The 14-year-old girl arrived at school here on Oct. 17 wearing a low-cut midriff top under an unbuttoned sweater. It was a clear violation of the dress code, and school officials gave her a bowling shirt to put on. She refused. Her mother came to the school with an oversize T-shirt. She refused to wear that, too.
''It was real ugly,'' said the girl, whose mother did not want her to be identified.
It was a standoff. So the city police officer assigned to the school handcuffed the girl, put her in a police car and took her to the detention center at the Lucas County juvenile courthouse. She was booked on a misdemeanor charge and placed in a holding cell for several hours, until her mother, a 34-year-old vending machine technician, got off work and picked her up.
She was one of more than two dozen students in Toledo who were arrested in school in October for offenses like being loud and disruptive, cursing at school officials, shouting at classmates and violating the dress code. They had all violated the city's safe school ordinance.
In cities and suburbs around the country, schools are increasingly sending students into the juvenile justice system for the sort of adolescent misbehavior that used to be handled by school administrators. In Toledo and many other places, the juvenile detention center has become an extension of the principal's office.
School officials say they have little choice. ''The goal is not to put kids out, but to maintain classrooms free of disruptions that make it impossible for teachers to teach and kids to learn,'' said Jane Bruss, the spokeswoman for the Toledo public schools. ''Would we like more alternatives? Yes, but everything has a cost associated with it.''
Others, however, say the trend has gone too far.
''We're demonizing children,'' said James Ray, the administrative judge for the Lucas County juvenile court, who is concerned about the rise in school-related cases. There were 1,727 such cases in Lucas County in 2002, up from 1,237 in 2000.
Fred Whitman, the court's intake officer, said that only a handful of cases -- perhaps 2 percent -- were for serious incidents like assaulting a teacher or taking a gun to school. The vast majority, he said, involved unruly students.
In Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky and Florida, juvenile court judges are complaining that their courtrooms are at risk of being overwhelmed by student misconduct cases that should be handled in the schools.
Although few statistics are available, anecdotal evidence suggests that such cases are on the rise.
''Everybody agreed -- no matter what side of the system they're from -- that they are seeing increasing numbers of kids coming to court for school-based offenses,'' said Andy Block, who assisted in a 2001 study of Virginia's juvenile justice system by the American Bar Association's Juvenile Defender Center. ''All the professionals in the court system were very resentful of this. They felt they were being handed problems and students that the schools were better equipped to address.''
According to an analysis of school arrest data by the Advancement Project, a civil rights advocacy group in Washington, there were 2,345 juvenile arrests in 2001 in public schools in Miami-Dade County, Fla., nearly three times as many as in 1999. Sixty percent, the project said, were for ''simple assaults'' -- fights that did not involve weapons --and ''miscellaneous'' charges, including disorderly conduct.
Many of the court cases around the country involve special-education students whose behavior is often related to their disabilities, Mr. Block and others say.
In an elementary school in northeastern Pennsylvania, an 8-year-old boy in a special-education class was charged with disorderly conduct this fall for his behavior in a time-out room: urinating on the floor, throwing his shoes at the ceiling and telling a teacher, ''Kids rule.''
''Teachers and school administrators know now that they can shift these kids into juvenile court,'' said Marsha Levick, legal director for the Juvenile Law Center of Philadelphia, which is representing the boy and has asked that the charges be dismissed. ''The culture has shifted. Juvenile court is seen as an antidote for all sorts of behavior that in the past resulted in time out or suspension.''
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E3DD1431F937A35752C0A9629C8B63
Friday, November 02, 2007
Another piece of evidence of the school to prison pipeline........
do with the hand we're dealt
E-mailed from the blogkeeper of I Speak of Dreams:
Study cites troubles with juvenile courts
Children accused of crimes in the U.S. juvenile court system often find themselves represented by lawyers who know nothing about their cases and under pressure to plead guilty, experts said on Wednesday.
"People would be outraged by many of these practices if they occurred in an adult system," said Cathryn Crawford of the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University Law School.
She was one of the authors of a report that looked at the juvenile court system in Illinois timed to mark the 40th anniversary of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that held that children accused of delinquency are entitled to a lawyer and due process in the courts...
Reaction from one Illinois juvenile public defender:
After reviewing the study, Brian Dees, an assistant public defender assigned to Sangamon County juvenile courts, said, “I don’t think it’s indicative of what we do here.”
Dees said defense attorneys normally meet with juveniles and parents before the first court hearing. Plea bargains are not forced on anyone, he said, and juvenile defendants don’t plead guilty on their first appearance. “We like to win trials,” said Dees, who has represented juveniles for eight years in Sangamon County. “We do everything we can. I’m not sure what they’re talking about...”
E-mailed from the blogkeeper of I Speak of Dreams:
Study cites troubles with juvenile courts
Children accused of crimes in the U.S. juvenile court system often find themselves represented by lawyers who know nothing about their cases and under pressure to plead guilty, experts said on Wednesday.
"People would be outraged by many of these practices if they occurred in an adult system," said Cathryn Crawford of the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University Law School.
She was one of the authors of a report that looked at the juvenile court system in Illinois timed to mark the 40th anniversary of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that held that children accused of delinquency are entitled to a lawyer and due process in the courts...
Reaction from one Illinois juvenile public defender:
After reviewing the study, Brian Dees, an assistant public defender assigned to Sangamon County juvenile courts, said, “I don’t think it’s indicative of what we do here.”
Dees said defense attorneys normally meet with juveniles and parents before the first court hearing. Plea bargains are not forced on anyone, he said, and juvenile defendants don’t plead guilty on their first appearance. “We like to win trials,” said Dees, who has represented juveniles for eight years in Sangamon County. “We do everything we can. I’m not sure what they’re talking about...”
Another piece of evidence of the school to prison pipeline........
do with the hand we're dealt
E-mailed from the blogkeeper of I Speak of Dreams:
Study cites troubles with juvenile courts
Children accused of crimes in the U.S. juvenile court system often find themselves represented by lawyers who know nothing about their cases and under pressure to plead guilty, experts said on Wednesday.
"People would be outraged by many of these practices if they occurred in an adult system," said Cathryn Crawford of the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University Law School.
She was one of the authors of a report that looked at the juvenile court system in Illinois timed to mark the 40th anniversary of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that held that children accused of delinquency are entitled to a lawyer and due process in the courts...
Reaction from one Illinois juvenile public defender:
After reviewing the study, Brian Dees, an assistant public defender assigned to Sangamon County juvenile courts, said, “I don’t think it’s indicative of what we do here.”
Dees said defense attorneys normally meet with juveniles and parents before the first court hearing. Plea bargains are not forced on anyone, he said, and juvenile defendants don’t plead guilty on their first appearance. “We like to win trials,” said Dees, who has represented juveniles for eight years in Sangamon County. “We do everything we can. I’m not sure what they’re talking about...”
E-mailed from the blogkeeper of I Speak of Dreams:
Study cites troubles with juvenile courts
Children accused of crimes in the U.S. juvenile court system often find themselves represented by lawyers who know nothing about their cases and under pressure to plead guilty, experts said on Wednesday.
"People would be outraged by many of these practices if they occurred in an adult system," said Cathryn Crawford of the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University Law School.
She was one of the authors of a report that looked at the juvenile court system in Illinois timed to mark the 40th anniversary of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that held that children accused of delinquency are entitled to a lawyer and due process in the courts...
Reaction from one Illinois juvenile public defender:
After reviewing the study, Brian Dees, an assistant public defender assigned to Sangamon County juvenile courts, said, “I don’t think it’s indicative of what we do here.”
Dees said defense attorneys normally meet with juveniles and parents before the first court hearing. Plea bargains are not forced on anyone, he said, and juvenile defendants don’t plead guilty on their first appearance. “We like to win trials,” said Dees, who has represented juveniles for eight years in Sangamon County. “We do everything we can. I’m not sure what they’re talking about...”
Monday, May 21, 2007
We seem to operate as though we are a rich district, and we are not." Colleen McHugh sure got rich
Tuesday, August 29, 2000
CCISD raises property tax rate by 7 cents
Owner of $75,000 home to pay $42 more per year
By Chris Neely
Caller-Times
Caller-Times
After approving general fund expenditures of more than $213 million Monday, CCISD trustees raised the district's property tax rate 7 cents to $1.57 per $100 valuation.
Under the new rate, the owner of a $75,000 home with the standard $15,000 exemption would pay the Corpus Christi Independent School District $942 per year, $42 more per year than with the $1.50 rate.
The vote comes a year after the board voted to cut the rate by 5 cents.
Included in the budget is $330,000 for a parity raise for auxiliary staff in the CCISD.
The board deadlocked the last time that raise came up for a vote, so trustees agreed to reconsider it Monday.
The district also approved expenditures of $11,621,700 for food service and $16,065,380 to repay debts in building projects for which the district issued bonds. In all, the district's expenses total $244,223,677.
The new tax rate and budget leaves the district with a deficit of $713,568.
Voting for the budget and the tax rate were Trustees Dot Adkins, Manuel Flores, Lucy Rubio, Rene Vela and Harry Williams; voting against them both was Trustee Vicki Rothschild and Board President Pinky Brauer.
District staff urged trustees to consider raising the tax rate to $1.58, the maximum increase allowed without approval by voters. The budget that would have been funded by that tax rate fell on a 3-4 vote, with only Flores, Vela and Williams voting for it.
"I cannot in good conscience vote for a tax increase of this magnitude," Brauer said.
Bullet-biting
Brauer urged more bullet-biting and belt-tightening for the district.
Williams said the $1.58 would carry the district away from crisis management when budget time rolls around next year.
"Let's get ahead of next year," Williams said. "Let's be proactive. We say we want the best, but we're not willing to pay for the best."
Flores said the district staff deserves the board's full support.
"Times are tough, but they were a lot tougher last year, and the district was kept together by a valiant group of employees," Flores said.
State funds
Passing the $1.58 would have given the district another $329,200 in state funds each year from 2001 to 2003.
By passing the $1.57 rate, the district forfeits that money. Vela said not taking advantage of that money in light of the $713,568 budget deficit was irresponsible.
Rothschild said she wanted to see the district cut more than it had.
"Being proactive isn't only raising the tax rate," Rothschild said.
Rubio also urged further cuts before trustees voted to defeat the $1.58 tax rate proposal.
"I ran stressing accountability," Rubio said. "We have not been as accountable as we could be. We seem to operate as though we are a rich district, and we are not."
'My pie is about gone'
Many audience members who spoke before the vote urged trustees to raise the tax rate to the maximum so that they would not leave any money on the table in Austin.
But resident Joe Cole, noting that most of those speaking in favor of the tax hike were teachers or consultants, urged restraint.
"That money on the table is my money," Cole told trustees. "Everybody wants a piece of the pie. Well, my pie is about gone."
Band uniforms for Ray HS
One item added to the budget at the last minute was $72,000 for new band uniforms for Ray High School. Dozens of parents, teachers and band members turned out for the meeting to tell trustees about the ragged condition of their uniforms.
"You have given other bands new uniforms," said Jaime Martinez, a Ray drum major. "Now it is our turn."
Staff writer Chris Neely can be reached at 886-3794 or by e-mail at neelyc@caller.com
CCISD raises property tax rate by 7 cents
Owner of $75,000 home to pay $42 more per year
By Chris Neely
Caller-Times
Caller-Times
After approving general fund expenditures of more than $213 million Monday, CCISD trustees raised the district's property tax rate 7 cents to $1.57 per $100 valuation.
Under the new rate, the owner of a $75,000 home with the standard $15,000 exemption would pay the Corpus Christi Independent School District $942 per year, $42 more per year than with the $1.50 rate.
The vote comes a year after the board voted to cut the rate by 5 cents.
Included in the budget is $330,000 for a parity raise for auxiliary staff in the CCISD.
The board deadlocked the last time that raise came up for a vote, so trustees agreed to reconsider it Monday.
The district also approved expenditures of $11,621,700 for food service and $16,065,380 to repay debts in building projects for which the district issued bonds. In all, the district's expenses total $244,223,677.
The new tax rate and budget leaves the district with a deficit of $713,568.
Voting for the budget and the tax rate were Trustees Dot Adkins, Manuel Flores, Lucy Rubio, Rene Vela and Harry Williams; voting against them both was Trustee Vicki Rothschild and Board President Pinky Brauer.
District staff urged trustees to consider raising the tax rate to $1.58, the maximum increase allowed without approval by voters. The budget that would have been funded by that tax rate fell on a 3-4 vote, with only Flores, Vela and Williams voting for it.
"I cannot in good conscience vote for a tax increase of this magnitude," Brauer said.
Bullet-biting
Brauer urged more bullet-biting and belt-tightening for the district.
Williams said the $1.58 would carry the district away from crisis management when budget time rolls around next year.
"Let's get ahead of next year," Williams said. "Let's be proactive. We say we want the best, but we're not willing to pay for the best."
Flores said the district staff deserves the board's full support.
"Times are tough, but they were a lot tougher last year, and the district was kept together by a valiant group of employees," Flores said.
State funds
Passing the $1.58 would have given the district another $329,200 in state funds each year from 2001 to 2003.
By passing the $1.57 rate, the district forfeits that money. Vela said not taking advantage of that money in light of the $713,568 budget deficit was irresponsible.
Rothschild said she wanted to see the district cut more than it had.
"Being proactive isn't only raising the tax rate," Rothschild said.
Rubio also urged further cuts before trustees voted to defeat the $1.58 tax rate proposal.
"I ran stressing accountability," Rubio said. "We have not been as accountable as we could be. We seem to operate as though we are a rich district, and we are not."
'My pie is about gone'
Many audience members who spoke before the vote urged trustees to raise the tax rate to the maximum so that they would not leave any money on the table in Austin.
But resident Joe Cole, noting that most of those speaking in favor of the tax hike were teachers or consultants, urged restraint.
"That money on the table is my money," Cole told trustees. "Everybody wants a piece of the pie. Well, my pie is about gone."
Band uniforms for Ray HS
One item added to the budget at the last minute was $72,000 for new band uniforms for Ray High School. Dozens of parents, teachers and band members turned out for the meeting to tell trustees about the ragged condition of their uniforms.
"You have given other bands new uniforms," said Jaime Martinez, a Ray drum major. "Now it is our turn."
Staff writer Chris Neely can be reached at 886-3794 or by e-mail at neelyc@caller.com
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Different "Graduation Plans" courtesy of actuarial nanotech......More than beech theives
Editorials
Bring CCISD selection process into light of day
The secrecy surrounding the current search for a new superintendent is indefensible. Did we learn nothing from the previous fiasco?
Friday, April 6, 2007
The selection process that will ultimately produce a finalist for superintendent of the Corpus Christi Independent School District is up and running.
On Wednesday the trustees interviewed four candidates for the post - including Scott Elliff, interim superintendent since the resignation of Jesus Chavez in February 2006.
That much we know of a certainty. It also seems safe to assume that the four individuals in question could fairly be considered the finalists from the field of 25 applicants who were being considered for the position.
However, should we at this late date be dealing in "seems" and "assume" when it comes to the process that will determine who is to lead the city's largest school district?
The question arises: Why has the Board of Trustees gone to such lengths to keep the public from getting anything more than a fleeting glimpse of the action? After all, the previous superinten-dent hunt, which saw Shoney Bria first accept, then decline the post, was grievously marred by the secrecy that surrounded it.
But - again - the board apparently believes that the releasing of names could prove ruinous for the applicants back in their home districts.
That, however, looks more and more like a smoke screen. School districts throughout the length and breadth of the nation are seeking leaders, and up-and-coming administrators are looking to move into superintendencies in larger districts.
The curtain of confidentiality is, at long last, nonsensical. More to the point, it does a disservice to the community. Consider: As matters now stand, we do not even know how many of the contenders will find favor with the trustees and be presented to the public. It could be one. Then again, it could be two, perhaps even three.
Concern for confidentiality is, or should be, trumped by another, vastly more important consideration: the public's right to know, and its right to have at least some role to play in the process.
The trustees' refusal to lay out the cards is beyond irritating; it borders on the outrageous.
Particularly disturbing is the fact that three new trustees elected last year - Carol Scott, John Longoria and Dwayne Hargis, all of whom emphasized their intent to bring new openness to the board - appear to have bought into the mum's-the-word ethos that has dominated this exercise.
To be sure, they (and their colleagues) could, and should, reverse their field - but the time remaining in which to keep this selection process from
Bring CCISD selection process into light of day
The secrecy surrounding the current search for a new superintendent is indefensible. Did we learn nothing from the previous fiasco?
Friday, April 6, 2007
The selection process that will ultimately produce a finalist for superintendent of the Corpus Christi Independent School District is up and running.
On Wednesday the trustees interviewed four candidates for the post - including Scott Elliff, interim superintendent since the resignation of Jesus Chavez in February 2006.
That much we know of a certainty. It also seems safe to assume that the four individuals in question could fairly be considered the finalists from the field of 25 applicants who were being considered for the position.
However, should we at this late date be dealing in "seems" and "assume" when it comes to the process that will determine who is to lead the city's largest school district?
The question arises: Why has the Board of Trustees gone to such lengths to keep the public from getting anything more than a fleeting glimpse of the action? After all, the previous superinten-dent hunt, which saw Shoney Bria first accept, then decline the post, was grievously marred by the secrecy that surrounded it.
But - again - the board apparently believes that the releasing of names could prove ruinous for the applicants back in their home districts.
That, however, looks more and more like a smoke screen. School districts throughout the length and breadth of the nation are seeking leaders, and up-and-coming administrators are looking to move into superintendencies in larger districts.
The curtain of confidentiality is, at long last, nonsensical. More to the point, it does a disservice to the community. Consider: As matters now stand, we do not even know how many of the contenders will find favor with the trustees and be presented to the public. It could be one. Then again, it could be two, perhaps even three.
Concern for confidentiality is, or should be, trumped by another, vastly more important consideration: the public's right to know, and its right to have at least some role to play in the process.
The trustees' refusal to lay out the cards is beyond irritating; it borders on the outrageous.
Particularly disturbing is the fact that three new trustees elected last year - Carol Scott, John Longoria and Dwayne Hargis, all of whom emphasized their intent to bring new openness to the board - appear to have bought into the mum's-the-word ethos that has dominated this exercise.
To be sure, they (and their colleagues) could, and should, reverse their field - but the time remaining in which to keep this selection process from
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