April 14 2015

Page 1

TUESDAY APRIL 14, 2015

VOLUME 104 ISSUE 78 www.UniversityStar.com

Defending the First Amendment since 1911

REZONING 3 Travis to Crockett – 56 Travis to De Zavala – 38

96 Crocket to Hernandez – 85 Hernandez to Crockett – 45

*The number of students that will be transferred to different schools in compliance with new attendance zones.

CITY

SMCISD officials approve new zones to help with growth N

ew attendance zones will go into effect this fall for six elementary schools and two middle schools in San Marcos. The San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved new attendance zones March 30 at a meeting. Lolly Guerra, assistant superintendent of human resources, said the need to redraw the zones presented itself when Bowie Elementary and Travis Elementary reached capacity this year. A wing of classrooms at Her-

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Mendez to Travis –

Bowie to Mendez –

nandez Elementary opened and created an opportunity to alleviate overcrowding at Travis and Bowie. The space became available after the February opening of the pre-K center, said Karen Griffith, assistant superintendent of business and support services. Guerra said the new attendance zones will benefit the district by making it easier to maintain the state-mandated 22-students-per-one-teacher ratio. The ratio provides a “conducive learning environment,” she said. “In order to even out all the schools and take relief off the ones that had too many students in them, we had to redistrict the boundaries,” Griffith said.

F

Hernandez to Mendez – 16 Mendez to De Zavala – 54

Bowie to De Zavala – 32 Bowie to Hernandez – 79

By Anna Herod SENIOR NEWS REPORTER @annaleemurphy

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Guerra said district officials are offering parents of fourth graders going into fifth grade and of seventh graders going into eighth grade the opportunity to allow students to remain at their schools for a final year. Families will have to apply by April 30 for the transfer. “If a student has been at a particular elementary school for five years already, they might not want to attend their last year of elementary school at a new campus,” Guerra said. “So I think it helps the community with a transition like this and eases them into the new attendance zones.” Iris Campbell, SMCISD public information officer, said the district has received 11 applica-

tions so far. Guerra wants parents who may be upset about the rezoning to know it is “simply a necessary action.” “We don’t control where the district grows, where neighborhoods go up, so it’s just something that has to be done,” Guerra said. “There’s no way to continue with the same attendance zones forever.” Campus-to-campus transfer requests are available for students of all grades. Priority will be given to fourth and seventh graders who have only one year left at their respective schools, Griffith said. According to the SMCISD

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STATE

Bill restricting tuition increases moves through Senate By Darcy Sprague NEWS REPORTER @darcy_days Public universities could be required to meet a set of performance-based standards in order to raise tuition if Senate Bill 778 passes. The bill, introduced Feb. 25, requires public universities to meet five out of nine set performance standards. Institutions will not be able to raise tuition above the rate of inflation if universities fail to meet the standards. The bill would take effect in the 2018-2019 academic year. The standards include graduation and retention rates and dollar value of external or sponsored research spending. Bill Nance, vice president of finance and support services, does not foresee any effect on Texas State. “We do very well on every one of those performance measures,” Nance said. The university was required to submit a financial impact analysis regarding the bill, Nance said. The current rate on inflation is about 1-2 percent, said Michael Heintze, associate vice president of enrollment management and marketing.

See ATTENDANCE, Page 2

See BILL 778, Page 2

CITY

San Marcos celebrates river, community at Wild Rice Festival By Jon Wilcox SENIOR NEWS REPORTER @thrilcox Thousands gathered in celebration of community, art and the environment April 11 on the banks of the San Marcos River at this year’s Texas Wild Rice Festival. Attendees enjoyed attractions including live music, educational lectures, hands-on workshops, arts and crafts, guided nature hikes and free food. Ashley Wright, founder of the festival and Texas State alumna, said the inspiration for the event grew out of her teaching experiences at the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment. Wright gained a new appreciation for the city’s natural areas while teaching others about the San Marcos River. The desire to share her appreciation led Wright to create a “workshop-based environmental festival” centered on one of San Marcos’ beloved symbols—wild rice. The festival attracted about 50 nonprofits and vendors, over 40 teachers and workshops, nine musical artists and more than 2,000 visitors, Wright said. Jeffery Hutchinson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service botanist, dis-

played native plants and animals at his booth on the top of a small hill at Sewell Park. Hutchinson said wild rice is special because it only grows natively in the first two miles of the San Marcos River. Decades ago, wild rice populations dropped to dangerous levels, and the plant almost became extinct, he said. Hutchinson said the rice has made a resurgence in past years thanks to replanting efforts and the organism’s uncanny ability to grow. “It grows fast,” Hutchinson said. “We had 85 meters of growth on a 14-week plant. That’s, like, almost a football field.” He said wild rice is special to biologists because it is an indicator species that reflects the overall health of its habitat. “If the rice goes, the river goes,” he said. Downhill from Hutchinson’s booth, people waited in line for their chance to enjoy another organism found in rivers. Nick Menchaca, owner of Atlas Environmental, a contracting company hired by the city to remove non-native, invasive species from the river, offered free fish tacos to hungry festivalgoers.

CRIME

DARYL ONTIVEROS STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Adam Salcedo, interdisciplinary studies graduate student, demonstrates the sow thistle plant April 11 during the Wild Rice Festival at Sewell Park. Menchaca and a friend sat next to a fire, grilling foil-wrapped tilapia over a barbeque pit for hours.

In total, they cooked and served almost 55 pounds of the invasive fish, Menchaca said.

“Lots of love” and wild tilapia

See WILD RICE, Page 2

CRIME

Suspects who fled traffic Capstone Cottage resident found dead stop still at large By Carlie Porterfield ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR @rep0rterfield Officials do not have any further information regarding a traffic stop gone wrong on Interstate Highway 35 (IH-35). Two men fled a traffic stop after being pulled over by a Texas Department of Public Safety

(DPS) officer, according to an April 9 University Star article. “They were stopped for a traffic violation,” said Robbie Barrera, DPS public information trooper. The officer walked to the window and asked to see the driver’s identification, Barrera said. The suspect did not produce identifi-

See TRAFFIC STOP, Page 2

By Nicholas Laughlin NEWS REPORTER @nmlaughlin

A resident of Capstone Cottages in San Marcos was found dead in his apartment March 29. The San Marcos Police Department (SMPD) received a call March 29 at approximately 12:03 p.m. from Capstone Cottages, located at 1415 Craddock Ave. Rumors of the incident were confirmed April 8 by police.

SMPD officials and Capstone Cottages maintenance staff were contacted by the apartment’s management to check on a resident after parents called to express concern about their child. The investigation is ongoing, and SMPD officials could not release the name of the resident found or whether he was a Texas State student. SMPD found drug paraphernalia at the scene that is currently being tested. A toxicology report

is being conducted on the body. B r a n d o n W i n ke nw e r d e r, SMPD commander, said the results from the tests will be available in four to six weeks. “It looks like a drug overdose, but (the results) have to come back from the labs,” Winkenwerder said. “That will be able to confirm if it was a drug overdose.” Capstone Cottages’ management did not respond to multiple requests for comment.


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