Finances, dropouts and superintendent search dominate school board forum

 

Jennifer L. Berghom

The Monitor  March 26, 2009

 

             McALLEN — The three people who end up winning the McAllen school board seats that are up for grabs will have to keep the school district financially sound, lower the dropout rate and work with a new superintendent to make sure students receive a good education.

             The seven candidates vying for those seats said during a candidate forum Thursday that they were up for the challenge.

In the Place 3 race, two-term incumbent Javier Farias - the only incumbent in the race - faces opposition from retired educator James Torline.

             Podiatrist Joseph Caporusso and Ralph Garcia, a human resources director and former Parent Teacher Association president, are vying for Place 6.

             The Place 7 seat has a three-way race among Samuel Saldivar Jr., who is in the insurance business, attorney and former teacher Larry Esparza and financial planner James Garcia.

             Although the forum, hosted by the McAllen Citizens League at the Salvation Army, was mostly a venue for the candidates to introduce themselves to the public, debate already started in the Place 3 race.

             Farias and Torline disagreed about the district's finances but said the board needs to make sure it keeps the school system financially afloat.

             Torline said the district has about a $4 million budget deficit and has already told teachers their contracts would not be renewed for the following school year.

             A couple of weeks ago, several first-year teachers were told their contracts would not be renewed, according to individual teachers and the McAllen Federation of Teachers, one of the local unions.

             "A lot of good teachers are being let go," Torline said. "We need to hold on to our teachers."

But Farias said the district is not in as dire a financial situation as Torline indicated.

The school system has a fund balance of about $30 million, but the district lost about $1.9 million in investments because of the ailing economy, Farias said. Any cuts being made are the result of the board taking a "proactive" approach in anticipating slim revenues.

Cuts to teaching positions are mainly being achieved through attrition, meaning the district won't fill positions vacated by those leaving the district, Farias said. Other teachers are being transferred to other schools.

             "We want to be good stewards of the taxpayers' money," Farias said.

             The challengers all said they wished new board members would have had the opportunity to select the new superintendent, since they would be the ones working with the new district administrator.

             The board has been working with an executive search firm to find a permanent replacement for Yolanda Chapa since the former superintendent announced last year her plans to retire, which she officially did at the end of January.

             The panel is getting closer to naming a sole finalist in its search, Farias said.

Candidates also shared similar views on lowering dropout rates, saying it would take the entire community's involvement, and on bilingual education, which they all support.

             Early voting begins April 27 and runs through May 5. The regular election is May 9.

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Jennifer L. Berghom covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462 or jberghom@themonitor.com

 

 

 

 

 

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