UPDATED: Two new trustees sworn in; Puig receives honors

Two new members joined the CCAISD Board of Trustees on Monday after being sworn in. Leticia Hernandez and Sandy Urias replaced outgoing board members Dion Corralez, who did not run for re-election and Duane Corrales, who lost his re-election bid.

The new board is now comprised of six women and one man, Paul Uranga, who was picked by trustees to remain as president of the board. Romy Ramirez was chosen as vice-president and Rocio Oñate was chosen as secretary.

Before the vote was canvassed, trustees first recognized the district’s athletes in softball, baseball, golf and track. Last week, the Lady Eagles track team won the state track meet in Austin. Trustees also recognized Laurie Gonzales for her recent efforts at the recent book fair.

According to the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) website, local boards nominate their choice for superintendent of the year, and the nomination is sent to the regional education service center (ESC). In this case, it would be Region 18 in Midland.

“Candidates are chosen for their strong leadership skills, dedication to improving the quality of education in their school districts, commitment to public support and involvement in education, and ability to build good employee relations among teachers and staff members.”

The Superintendent of the Year will be chosen among the regional qualifiers, and the winner will be announced at the Sept. 26 TASB/TASA Convention.

In other action, Mr. Puig in his update said that CCAISD may have dodged a bullet under Chapter 41 of the Texas Education Code (“Equalized Wealth Level”) for years, but that the district may end up paying hundreds of thousands of dollars back to the state.

The Texas Legislature has failed to come up with an adequate, fair and reasonable school funding program after many years of attempting to find a suitable solution. Chapter 41 of the Texas Education Code has been called many things, including the “Robin Hood Plan” because it penalizes what the law calls “property wealthy districts,” including CCAISD.

As the Advocate has reported in the past, “property wealthy” as the legislature views it, is not equivalent to being a “rich” district. The legislature bases its formulas based upon “weighted average daily attendance.” In the case of CCAISD, while property values continue to increase, student enrollment has either remained flat or has decreased.