NEWS
Schools could see $2.2 million if penalty is thrown out
By BARBARA GREEN
Nothing is set in stone in the Texas Legislature. But if a pair of bills related to basic school funding pass, seven school districts in the greater Montague County area could see more than $2.2 million come back into their districts.
State Rep. James Frank (R-Wichita Falls) introduced House Bill 1710 on Feb. 9 which would eliminate the “small district penalty.” There is a similar bill in the Senate, SB 648.
This legislation would correct a 30-year-old problem imposed on districts that are less than 300 square miles in size and have 1,600 or fewer students.
During the ensuing years, the system has changed dramatically. The original legislation adopted two formulas that recognized the additional cost to educate children in a smaller school district.
Small schools were defined as those with 1,600 or fewer students. The state established a cost-based multiplier of .0004 for those districts.
However, an additional formula was added that penalized small school districts less than 300 square miles in size by lessening their multiplier to .00025.
There was no real basis given at the time for this addition; however, many people have said it political and an attempt to get smaller schools to consolidate.
Read the full story and how the passage of these bills could impact the local schools districts in the weekend News.
By BARBARA GREEN
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A public hearing has been scheduled for 9:45 a.m. on May 28 for the Montague County Commissioner’s Court to present the updated subdivision regulations that have been in the works for several months.
That date was set during Monday’s court session, where a development officer also was named and a state-required notice was approved. The 89-page draft of the subdivision regulations are available on the county website co.montague.tx.us/page/montague.home.
It was August 2019 when the regulations were adopted by the commissioners after much debate among water well drillers, groundwater district staff and directors, realtors and land developers.
During those original discussions water issues lead the way as many counties especially around heavily populated urban areas are experiencing water shortages and possible contamination due to an inadequate number of houses and wells or even the use of a public water system in the rural areas.
Charley Lanier, who has been working as a grant officer for the county, was named to be the subdivision development officer. After a brief 10-minute executive session, the court named Lanier who they said would be the “initial contact” for all developers who will accept all paperwork and plats.
Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.
City of Bowie water and street crews repair a broken water line in the area of Walnut and Smythe last week, along with repairing a large pot hole in the same area. (Photo by Barbara Green)
Bowie Intermediate School students, staff and families enjoyed a “STAAR” Party on April 18 celebrating the hard work of all preparing for STAAR testing as well as other year’s successes. There were about 200 students and parents attending to enjoy the activities that included telescopes provided through the 3Rivers Foundation. It was a clear night perfect for star gazing, there also was an outdoor movie and other activities. (BIS courtesy photos)
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