Friday, May 8, 2015
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Agua SUD names new top dog
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By Julie Silva ulio Cerda, former Mission city manager, was named the finalist last week for chief executive officer of the Agua Special Utility District. Ricardo Ochoa, Agua SUD board president, said the board wanted someone with experience in government work, preferably an engineer. Cerda, he said, fits
that description. “We felt that he was the most experienced, most educated, most qualified person and old enough to come here and, we the board felt, he would hit the ground running,” Ochoa said. “Even if we didn’t meet with him, he would know what to do.” In the same meeting, Oscar “Coach” Salinas, a Hidalgo County employee and La Joya ISD board trustee,
was chosen as Agua SUD’s community outreach coordinator. Both positions are new and salaries are being negotiated. The CEO spot was budgeted at the beginning of the fiscal year as an assistant district manager. A meeting had been scheduled for Thursday, May 7, to take further action on the positions. Ochoa described Salinas a people-person who is flu-
ent in Spanish and English. Salinas, he said, worked as a radio and television announcer for the school district and once was a Sullivan City commissioner. “He has a lot of experience right now working with the county, as well, with the septic tanks and inspections and business and everything else. He knows the area here, so he knows some of the problems we have,” Ochoa
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said. Cerda also works as a consultant engineer for the city of Peñitas, but he said his work with Agua SUD would not affect his consultant business. Ochoa said the district’s attorneys are checking to ensure everything’s “above board” on the appointments, looking into the fact that Cerda is a consultant for Peñitas, a client of Agua
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By Julie Silva orm Sands is getting ready to retire after 30 years of teaching music to elementary students, but on his way out, he’s making sure to hit all the right notes. Sunday, Sands was honored with the H-E-B Excellence in Education Lifetime Achievement Award in elementary education. It was his third run at the award, having been a finalist in 2012 and reaching the semifinals in 2014. The award comes with a $25,000 prize for Sands and another $25,000 for his campus, Tabasco Elementary in La Joya Independent School District. “My knees almost buckled when they called my name,” Sands said in an interview with H-E-B representatives after the ceremony. “This is my second time as a state finalist, and I know what it feels like to not have your name called, and I was so worried that was going to happen once again, so when they called my name it just was incredible.” He already started speculating on what the money could be used for at Tabasco Elementary, suggesting tech-
TOP: Norm Sands, music specialist at Tabasco Elementary School, receives the H-E-B Excellence in Education Lifetime Achievement Award for elementary education. ABOVE: Sands leads a class after it was announced in March that he was a semif-finalist for the award. Courtesy photos
nology upgrades in the cafeteria, a second playground for the school’s 800 students and a robotics lab using Legos. In March when the finalists for the award were named, Tabasco Principal Alfonso Valdez had no doubt Sands would win the honor. Valdez said Sands is the only music teacher he’s seen go out of his way to build relationships with students out in the halls and in the school cafeteria.
“He talks to them as human beings and tries to learn about their home life, their personal life, and builds those bonds,” Valdez said. “He’s an amazing person. You’ll probably meet one person like him in your lifetime.” Teaching, Sands said, has given him a great deal of satisfaction, but he’s ready for retirement, and he’ll be eligible in March 2016. Valdez said he’s trying to convince Sands to stay on a few years,
but Sands said whether it’s in March or at the end of the next school year, he will retire. Sands plans to look for other things to keep his mind stimulated, and he’s already planning to publish a book on curriculum for music courses. He equated teaching to building a house. If the foundation isn’t solid, the structure will soon fall apart. That’s why he’s continued to teach at the elementary level. Academics – reading, writing and mathematics – are paramount in education, but Sands believes students’ knowledge of the arts is important to the human experience. “If they do not have a deeper knowledge of any of the arts, I feel like they’re missing half of their personhood,” Sands said. “Not only does music enhance the knowledge of reading and math and science and so forth, but it enhances their humanity.” Over the years, Sands said, his teaching techniques have changed. For example, students are able to learn music concepts through Garage-
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School funding may see changes By Lea Victoria Juarez
La Joya teacher receives Lifetime Achievement Award
SUD, and that four of Agua SUD’s board of directors are employees for La Joya ISD and voted in favor of Salinas. The board met for three hours both April 30 and May 1 to interview three candidates each for the two positions. Other applicants for CEO were Juan Ortiz, former Peñitas city manager, and Chris Garcia, a water plant
he Texas Legislature entered uncharted territory by taking on school finance when State Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock announced in late March that the House Public Education Committee would be addressing funding formula during the 84th session. Aycock presented a plan that would increase funding for many school districts in the state by removing several provisions, including the Cost of Education Index. Under the index, money from property-wealthy school districts was distributed to low-income districts. Under Aycock’s plan, Mission Consolidated Independent School District would receive more than $1 million in addition to its current budget, and Sharyland ISD would receive nearly $3 million more from the state. La Joya ISD currently benefits under the plan, receiving $2 million because of the number of low-income students in the district. Aycock’s plan would make up the difference in La Joya so it would not lose funding. But people aren’t too sure what that means for the pending Supreme Court litigation. The state is appealing the Supreme Court’s ruling that Texas funding is unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court isn’t expected to make a ruling until the fall at the earliest. The legislative session ends June 1, and no one knows how any action will affect the Supreme Court ruling. However, according to lobbyist Josh Sanderson, the discussion has gone stagnant. “There’s not as much momentum talking about doing anything on the school finance front outside of just the money that’s in the budget,” said Sanderson, lobbyist for the Association of Texas Professional Educators. “I hate to get into predictions when it comes to the Legisla-
ture and what they’re doing, but right now...it looks like they’re going to probably wait to see what the Supreme Court does.” Retired State District Judge John Dietz ruled Texas’ method of funding public education was unconstitutional in 2014, stating it was not distributed fairly. Texas public schools are primarily funded through property taxes with varying amounts depending on resident location. In addition, there is also a cap on how much can be raised through property taxes. Then-Attorney General Greg Abbott appealed Dietz’s decision to the Supreme Court shortly thereafter. It’s all politics, according to Sanderson. “The money is here. We’ve got surplus; we’re looking at about $18 billion right now that are going to be sitting in state coffers that could be spent,” the Austin-based lobbyist explained. “But largely they’re just going to go unspent because the political will simply doesn’t exist to do it.” Sanderson said the reason the school funding discussion has slowed down is because more pressing issues have taken its place and the days are dwindling down. Mission teacher Nydia Alvarez-Alonzo is one educator banking on a change during this session. “They’ve stalled a little bit to see the outcome of the court case, but no matter what was decided by the court, they knew that they cut funding,” the fifth-grade teacher said. “They knew that the kids needed more funding. They could have acted on it sooner.” Aycock’s proposal includes approximately $3 billion in addition to what the state needs to pay for growth in student enrollment. That’s $800 million more than the House had previously budgeted. The Senate has $1.5
See SCHOOL FUNDING 12
INSIDE
Saturday is Election Day
INDEX
Couple moves to children’s home
Congressman highlights luncheon
Residents in the Alton, Peñitas and Sharyland ISD boundaries have the opportunity to make their voices heard at the polls.
The Lopezes gave up their house in 2014 to have more space to care for foster children and encourage others to do the same.
Henry Cuellar was the keynote speaker during this week’s Buenos Tardes event hosted by the Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce.
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Entertainment | pg. 2
Lifestyle | pg. 6
Opinion | pg. 4
Sports | pg. 8
Obituaries | pg. 11
Classifieds | pg. 13