Several Texas Legislators and staff members who work in their offices were recognized for work on Spring Branch ISD matters and public education issues during the 81st Legislative Session in Austin.
The SBISD Board of Trustees honored the 2009 SBISD Legislative Delegation during the Sept. 29 regular monthly meeting of the Board. They were also honored in a reception held before the regular meeting.
Honored were Sen. John Whitmire, Senate District 15; Donna Bahorich, who is Senate Dist. 7 director for Sen. Dan Patrick, Senate Dist. 7; Amanda Jenson, on behalf of Sen. Joan Huffman, Senate Dist. 17; Rep. Kristi Thibaut, House District 133; Wendi Lojo, on behalf of Rep. Beverly Wooley, House Dist. 136; and Rep. Dwayne Bohac, House District 138. Trustee Mike Falick led this particular presentation.
SBISD’s Legislative priorities focused primarily finance and accountability issues. SBISD believes that the current state funding system needs to be modified to provide funds to meet cost increases caused by inflation, growth and changes in student demographics.
To meet current needs, SBISD believes the school finance system must include a biennially updated index that captures all district costs and yearly increases to meet cost increases due to the combination of growth and inflation.
In addition, the finance system should permit unlimited local voter-approved enrichment to allow school districts to supplement funding to meet community expectations. The Trustees have prioritized the elimination of Chapter 41 recapture, including the recapture of voter-approved local enrichment.
On accountability, SBISD believes that it is time to replace the current accountability system with one that has as its sole focus the goal of ensuring that all students complete high school and are prepared, without remediation, to obtain a two-year associate’s degree, a technical certification or a four-year baccalaureate degree.
In addition, the accountability system should assess students based on annual academic, non-academic growth and development of 21st Century workforce skills. It should also use multiple assessments, reward success based on overall student performance, and mandate corrective action for chronically deficient performance in student sub-populations.
SBISD Legislative Delegation recognitions for those who attended include:
- Donna Bahorich on behalf of Sen. Dan Patrick - Sen. Patrick supported reducing mandates on public school districts. He worked with Superintendent of Schools Duncan Klussmann and SBISD Trustee Susan Kellner on the prekindergarten bill supporting programs with proven track records like the program in Spring Branch. He worked on the accountability bill.
- Sen. John Whitmire - Sen. Whitmire is Dean of the Texas Senate and has represented his Senate district for 26 years. He worked with the Senate to guarantee and across-the-board pay raise for public school teachers, librarians, nurses and counselors.
- Amanda Jensen on behalf of Sen. Joan Huffman - Sen. Huffman worked on School Finance and the Public School Accountability Bill, as well as a bill to study various methods of treating dyslexia.
- Rep. Kristi Thibaut - Rep. Thibaut co-authored the bill to create a full-day prekindergarten program. She filed a bill to require school districts to notify teachers and other employees of their right to paid assault leave if assaulted on campus. She supported school finance reform legislation.
- Wendi Lojo on behalf of Rep. Wooley - Rep. Wooley filed a bill to completely repeal the Top 10 Percent Rule, which has impacted SBISD students who plan to attend the University of Texas; a compromise bill was reached to provide some relief. She sought to address potential unintended consequences to SBISD in the school funding bill. She championed SBISD positions in support of the accountability bill and the sales tax holiday for school supplies.
- Rep. Dwayne Bohac - Rep. Bohac supported the school finance bill, which included pay raises for teachers and for others and system improvements. He has supported the bill for retired educators to receive a 13th check, or one-time raise. He co-authored the bill affecting accountability standards, increases in college preparedness and district recognitions for outstanding performance.