EPISD to Receive $7,193,000

The entire school district has been approved for a total of $7,193,000 from the stimulus bill educational funds enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009.

From this amount, $4,2008,000 is directed for expenditures allowed under the Title 1-A which gives School districts a wide latitude in the expenditure of funds to improve student achievement. Title I funds can be used for tutoring, reducing class size and after school programs.

The remaining $2,985,000 falls under IDEA Part B expenses which are intended to ensure that children with disabilities have access to a appropriate public education that meets a child’s unique needs and prepares him or her for further education, employment, and independent living.

All these funds are at the disposal of our school district that besides improvements in education, they are also intended to stimulate the economy through purchases, hiring and yes even some construction.

In the State of Texas, the Texas Education Agency was entrusted to establish the processes that need to be followed to bring order to the allocation of federal funds. Communities and educational institutions are pleased with the generous amounts available to school districts but many are equally concerned about possible fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement of these federal funds. The Texas Education Agency insists that districts be open with details about how they plan to apply these funds. They have also asked for accountability and transparency and suggested that each district conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to inform the public how they plan to spend these funds.

The House Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization was created to provide transparency and accountability of the $16 billion that will be available to Texas.

It behooves everyone in Maverick County to be aware of our district’s need assessment and to participate to the extent allowed for the sake of our children’s education.

More later.

our REACT members....

Perhaps as a departing gesture I want to make an analogy about one of my previous endeavors which gives me pride because it made a difference at the time. In the 1970’s the country saw a surge in the use of electronic technology in CB radios as a form of close range communications.

Initially local use of this technology grew gradually primarily because of cost. But as it developed, people join others and there was an amicable manner among all users. Courtesy was evident much like what you see at an intersection with a stop sign at each corner. Channel 19 was the common channel where you tagged up with another caller but took your conversation to another adjacent channel in order to free 19 so others could use that channel. It wasn’t long before we received calls for help from stranded motorists or to report motor vehicle accidents.

I learned about a nationwide organization called REACT. This organization’s primary objective was to answer emergency calls on Channel 9; the emergency channel on CB radios. A group of us came together and developed procedures to introduce REACT to Maverick County and shortly thereafter received our charter and were operational. During the period that this organization existed, we helped countless motorist with emergencies and in one case were able to get emergency assistance to a truck driver involved in a head-on collision in the early morning hours. Our service received local recognition and we received a city proclamation, at a time when proclamations were not as common as today. Looking back at our members, it is clear that these were all caring individuals that had a strong sense of community and wanted to give back to our county. Local CB radio operators quickly learned that our organization was on Channel 9, willing to help anyone.

But as time went on, more and more CB users started using CB radios. Obscenities became common and users would played music on Channel 9 and 19. Others would hold down the microphone button, which would not allow others to use the radio. The situation worsens to the point that we asked for federal intervention since CB communications fell under their jurisdiction. We soon learned that the federal government had no staff to enforce these FCC regulations. Time and time again we tried to reason with these abusers but to no avail. As we complained, they became more determined to disrupt what many had worked hard to create. Frustrated and discouraged, our membership dwindled and eventually disbanded.

I have very pleasant memories about our REACT members, knowing that they stepped up and helped our community up until the end and all this with absolutely no compensation