October
2005
Caucus Golf
Tournament Around the Corner!
The Mexican American Legislative Caucus
will be holding its annual
Austin fundraising reception and Golf Classic this
month. The reception will be held Wednesday,
October 19 at 6:00 p.m. at Serrano’s
Restaurant, 11th & Red River. The golf
tournament is Thursday, October 20, at
the beautiful Circle C Golf Club.
This annual event supports the Caucus’s
policy and research operations and helps
the Caucus fully prepare for the upcoming
legislative sessions. The Caucus has had
tremendous turnout in previous years and
looks forward to another successful event
in which Caucus supporters and members
can meet in a relaxed environment.
For more information or to support the event,
please call 512-236-8410 or click
here.
Caucus Member Rep. Noriega
Recruited to Operate Hurricane Katrina
Shelter for Houston
Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on
Monday, August 29, and as evacuees streamed
out of New Orleans, Mayor Bill White of Houston
called on Caucus member Rep. Rick Noriega
(Houston) to serve his city, state, and country
by acting as Site Manager for the hurricane
shelter at Houston’s George R. Brown
Convention Center.
Rep. Noriega had just returned from active
duty with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan
on August 2, resumed his seat in the
House of Representatives on August 26,
and was preparing to return to his job
at Center Point Energy the following week.
Noriega arrived at the Convention Center
at 11a.m. on Friday, September 2, and
within twelve hours his work teams had
installed beds and showers for up to 1,000
people as evacuees began to arrive—239
on the first day.
Under Noriega’s leadership, the
Convention Center sheltered almost 3,000
people at its peak. The Center provided
meals, play areas for children, news coverage,
and a library. The University of Texas
Health Science Center at Houston and the
City of Houston partnered to provide medical,
nursing, dental, and other professional
health services, including dialysis.
The Convention Center closed as a shelter
after three weeks, but Rep. Noriega assisted
the mayor's hurricane relief task force
when Hurricane Rita threatened Galveston
and Houston. Noriega said, “This
work has been a life-changing experience.
It has been a blessing to all of us to
be allowed to serve our brothers and sisters
from New Orleans and all the Gulf Coast
affected by Katrina.”
Click here to read more about the efforts
at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Pew Hispanic Center Releases
Immigration Study
A September report released by the Pew
Hispanic Center shows a rise, peak, and
now decline in overall immigration into
the United States between 1992 and 2004.
Immigration flows are important to the
discussion of a range of issues, from health
to education, but flow is difficult to
measure. The Pew Hispanic Center reviewed
numbers from the 2000 Census and two recent
yearly surveys.
Numbers reflect an immigration growth
from 1992 to 1998, with an average of 1.1
million immigrants each year. A peak followed
from 1999 to 2000, with an average of 1.5
million immigrants each year. Since 2000,
numbers have dropped back to an average
of 1.1 million immigrants each year. Research
also showed that over the 12-year period
of 1992 to 2004, immigration from Mexico
consistently counted for about one-third
of the flow.
Overall, immigrants were destined not
for the traditional established immigrant
communities in California and New York,
but towards states with new immigrant communities
like North Carolina and Iowa.
Click
here to read the entire report.
CPPP
Evaluates Governor Perry’s
Sixty-Five Percent Rule; Texas Education
Agency Commissioner Appoints Task Force
The Center for Public Policy Priorities
(CPPP) has released an evaluation of Governor
Perry’s August 22 Executive Order
67. The Order requires that 65 percent
of school district funds be spent for instructional
purposes.
Texas currently spends 60 percent of education
funds on instruction. Under federal guidelines,
"instruction" costs
include teachers, classroom supplies, athletics,
music, and art. These are separate from
"support" costs
for counselors, libraries, principals,
buses, and maintenance.
CPPP concludes that “requiring school
districts to spend at least 65% of their
operating budget on ‘instruction’ as
defined by the federal government would
not enhance student achievement, would
have unintended negative consequences,
and would move Texas back to measuring
process rather than performance.”
http://www.cppp.org/research.php?aid=456
CPPP states that support services like
counselors promote student achievement;
pushing Texas up to 65% will force schools
to spend less on services like libraries
and busing; and that instructional spending
is not a measure of performance—some
states spend less than Texas on instruction
but have better student academic achievement.
Since the Executive Order, Texas Education
Agency Commissioner Shirley Neeley has
appointed a Task Force to address the Order.
Task Force members include:
- Superintendent David Anthony, Cypress-Fairbanks
Independent School District
- Executive Director John Bass, Region
16 Education Service Center, Amarillo
- Superintendent Carol Ann Bonds, Livingston
ISD
- Superintendent Cathy Bryce, Highland
Park ISD, Dallas
- Superintendent Bonny Cain, Pearland
ISD
- Superintendent Pat Forgione, Austin
ISD
- Superintendent Annette Griffin, Carrollton-Farmers
Branch ISD
- Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, Dallas
ISD
- Superintendent Robert Nicks, Midland
ISD
- Superintendent Patricia Pickles, Pflugerville
ISD
- Superintendent Thomas Randall, Lamar
Consolidated ISD
- Superintendent Abe Saavedra, Houston
ISD
- Superintendent Jesus Sanchez, Eagle
Pass ISD
- Superintendent Carrol Thomas, Beaumont
ISD
- Executive Director James Vasquez, Region
19 Education Service Center (El Paso)
Click
here to read about the Task Force.
Click
here to read the September MALC Newsletter
story on the Executive Order.
Congratulations! Caucus
Member Rep. Michael Villarreal Welcomes
a Baby Boy
State Rep. Mike Villarreal (San Antonio),
his wife, Jeanne Russell, and their daughter
Bella welcomed Marcos Diego Villarreal
into the world on Monday, October 3 at
11am. Mother and baby are doing well and
resting. Anyone wishing to send note to
the family can send them to Villarreal
Family, PO Box 120206, San Antonio, TX,
78212.
Caucus Birthdays
Ruth Jones McClendon (San Antonio) – Oct.
5
Patrick Rose (Dripping Springs) – Oct.
10
Richard Raymond (Laredo) – Oct.
27
Ryan Guillen (San Diego) – Oct.
27
Elvira Reyna (Mesquite) – Oct. 28
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