Good morning!  I hope you had a good weekend.  It was a very busy weekend for me as I was in Dallas for the Texas Association of School Boards/Texas Association of School Administrators joint convention which is held annually.  It is always an excellent meeting where information is shared and meetings held for the discussion of many topics related to school districts.  No doubt a primary topic of discussion was the upcoming legislative session and how the Legislature might address the issue of school funding.  Even though it is estimated by various sources that there may be a $10 billion plus surplus this year, it is unsure how much may be available for appropriation to schools.  It has been estimated that the business margins tax that was created to pay for the property tax relief may in fact be about $1.6 to $2.0 billion short of what is needed, and with the devastation of Hurricane Ike it is unclear what the state may have to commit to pay for relief.  What we do know for sure is that the state has benefited from the property value increases that have taken place statewide.  Instead of schools receiving the benefit of the funds created by these property value increases, it has been the state that has benefited, and it is assumed that this may be close to $2 billion.  I want to make it clear that, because the state has benefited from these funds instead of school districts, the state should certainly appropriate these funds to schools, and then take steps to provide for inflation, address the problem associated with target revenue, and increase teacher salaries.  A lot of discussion took place at this meeting regarding school finance, accountability issues, unfunded mandates, and other issues related to schools.

At the last Board of Trustees meeting our Board adopted our legislative priorities for the 2009 legislative session.  The majority of the priorities do relate to school finance since this is the most critical issue we are facing.  But the priorities also address the need for rewriting the accountability system to make it more fair and equitable to large diverse districts and campuses and providing relief to districts which have a large influx of unschooled refugee children, particularly in regard to the campus or district’s accountability rating.  I appreciate so much the positions taken and involvement of our Board of Trustees in working with the Legislature to address the needs and concerns of our district.

Senate Bill 218 of the 77th Legislature (2001) authorized the implementation of a financial accountability rating system, which is officially referred to as Schools FIRST.  The primary goal of Schools FIRST is to improve the management of school districts’ financial resources and rate schools based upon an analysis of budgetary and financial data.  TEA has released each school district’s official financial rating.  The Northside Independent School District has received the highest rating of “Superior Achievement.”  This is the sixth year in a row the District has received the superior rating.  All areas of evaluation were passed at 100%!  This is an accomplishment for which we are very proud and I compliment our business and finance department for the great job they do.  A special congratulations to George Torres, Deputy Superintendent for Business & Financial Services, and Oscar Cardenas, Assistant Superintendent for Budget & Finance, and all their staff.  They do a great job and this is certainly evident as a result of this great rating.

Another thing I want to mention is that the Board approved a five-year contract with an option to renew for five one-year periods with Coca-Cola Bottling Company.  Recently a survey was taken of the preference of Coca-Cola or Pepsi by you being able to vote in the online survey.  In the survey Coke received 87% of the votes cast.  As a result of the survey and the bids received, Coca-Cola was awarded the contract.  In November the process will begin in changing our vending machines from Pepsi to Coke.  Even though I know many of you are very happy with this decision, I do want to express my appreciation to Pepsi for being such a great partner over the last years.  Thanks to Pepsi, and we look forward to a great partnership with Coca-Cola!

In closing, I want to congratulate Cable Elementary School on their 50th Anniversary.  Last Wednesday night the school celebrated this anniversary with a program and reception.  I want to express my congratulations to all past and present faculty members, staff, and principals who have made this elementary school such an excellent place of learning.  A special congratulations to Principal Brenda Farias and Vice Principal Tod Kuenning on a wonderful evening of recognition and celebration!

In Northside “We Believe” in the power of public education and the success of our students for which Cable is an excellent example.  Have a great week!