Category Archives: K-12 Education

Silvia Mintz Files for HCDE Pos. 4, Pct. 3

Posted on December 16, 2011 | Comments Off

Silvia Mintz is the latest local activist to file for a seat on the Harris County Department of Education Board of Trustees. Filing on Thursday at the Harris County Democratic Party for the seat which represents County Commissioner Pct. 3, Mintz says she is concerned about the state of education in Harris County, calling it the key to achieving and earning the American Dream.

“I am entering this race because I believe it is crucial that we protect the American Dream through education for future generations here in Harris County.  I am living proof of the American Dream’s extraordinary promise.  I came to Houston and started as a maid and janitor.  Now, I have my own law firm and my daughter is an engineering student in college.  Without access to a solid education, none of this would have been possible.  Given recent policy decisions, now, more than ever, Harris County needs a leader with innovative solutions to repair a broken education system.  The American Dream is being challenged. I am running to ensure that children have access to the highest quality education and a chance to live up to their God-given potential.”

Mintz is a well-known activist in Democratic and immigration reform circles, serving the community in various capacities.

Silvia is a volunteer and board member of various organizations, including the Houston Community College Foundation and Children at Risk.  She also volunteers her time as legal counsel for the Christian organization Pastores en Accion and the Mexican Consulate.

Silvia was also the 2010 Democratic candidate for Texas House District 132. Precinct 3 is a vast area which has become more diverse and the next frontier Democrats in Harris County. The HCDE seats are “bottom of the ballot” races, but with some good Democrats in contention for these seats, they could help keep the entire ballot exciting for voters. No doubt Mintz will be in it to win it as she is assembling a good support team to work the grassroots and the netroots.

You can visit and “LIKE” her Facebook page here.

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Posted in Houston Politica, Immigration, DREAM Act, Chicano Politics, K-12 Education, LatinoVote '12, Houston Dems '12, Texas Dems 2012, TDP Convention 2012, 2012 Profiles

The Forum for 137 and 144

Posted on December 14, 2011 | Comments Off

This post comes a little late. It’s been a busy week!

So, Tuesday was exciting for me as I attended the Harris County Democratic Party’s Brown Bag Lunch at noon. Actually, I got there a little early to enjoy the wi-fi and pre-talk chisme. Tuesday was a special meeting to highlight the candidates for two new opportunities for Democrats–Texas House 137 and 144.

Candidate for HD-144 Ornaldo Ybarra was on hand; however, the rest of the competition was a no-show. For HD-137, it was Jamaal Smith and Joe Madden.

Chairman Birnberg, after a lengthy explanation about where we are on the redistricting maps and the Texas Primary, the forum began with each of the candidates taking a seat at the head table. Birnberg moderated the discussion.

Ybarra presented himself as a progressive candidate serving a diverse community. Citing the challenges to working with a mostly conservative administration, he stated he has made it his work to ensure his constituents were well-served and represented.

Ybarra did cite what some may bring up–a lack of a Democratic Primary voting record. Stating that he serves Democratic leaning constituents, he also falls on the Democratic side of their issues. For issues, he cited education as his main priority. Serving as a police officer and working with the schools, he has seen how small learning environments are more effective and therefore should be a priority.

HD-137 will be offering candidates with strong Democratic credentials, among others. Jamaal Smith has served the Democratic Party as a campaign operative, and he served the constituents of HD-143, having worked for the late State Rep. Joe Moreno. Joe Madden offers a lot of experience working for State Rep. Garnet Coleman and the Legislative Study Group.

Both candidates were in agreement on most issues, each offering their direct experience in the legislature. Smith, though, did exhibit a strong commitment to constituent services, and, many times, voters will seek those who they feel will serve them best in that regard. Another strong-point for Smith will be that he has exhibited a commitment to growing roots in the district.

And, apparently, there may be others getting ready to file. No matter what happens with all the redistricting mess caused by the Republicans, it will be an exciting Spring.

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Posted in Houston Politica, Chicano Politics, K-12 Education, LatinoVote '12, Houston Dems '12, Texas Dems 2012, TDP Convention 2012

Erica Lee Files for HCDE Position 6

Posted on December 6, 2011 | 1 Comment

Erica S. Lee, a regional quality coordinator for a public health program, filed for Harris County Department of Education Trustee, Position 6, today at the Harris County Democratic Party HQ. Offering a healthy dose of political, education and public policy experiences, Lee wants to serve those not served adequately by the education system.

In a speech to supporters at her campaign kick-off held this weekend, Lee stated:

My vision for a quality education was created after witnessing countless students being denied access to educational opportunity and achievement.  Our system does not serve all students in a quality way and for this reason I seek to become a Trustee.  I am seeking a position on the Board because I have witnessed firsthand how much our children achieve when given a quality education.

Taking a shot at what has become business as usual, she added:

Despite what the special interests or pundits might say, we can bring quality to our education systems in Harris County.  We must be willing to put our resources where they are most needed and support efforts that are of proven quality.

Lee is also advocating to bring quality STEM programs to Harris County in order to expand what is currently offered.

Lee is vying for the position currently held by a Republican. If she doesn’t draw a primary opponent, Lee has a very good chance of winning and finally bringing true representation to the people of Precinct 1, which this position is supposed to serve.

DosCentavos wishes Erica “Victory in 2012!”

Update from the Chron:

Precinct 1 incumbent Roy Morales (the republican) said six years was enough for him. “My time’s done with that position,” he said. A candidate for mayor of Houston in 2009, Morales said he wouldn’t rule out running for office in the future but had no immediate plans.

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Posted in Houston Politica, Chicano Politics, K-12 Education, DC Ojo, LatinoVote '12, Houston Dems '12, Texas Dems 2012

This Just In: Fonseca Will Not Seek Recount in HISD3

Posted on November 21, 2011 | 1 Comment

That’s the latest from Texas Watchdog Reporter Mike Cronin on his FB:

‎Ramiro Fonseca, who lost to incumbent Houston Independent School District Trustee Manuel Rodriguez last week by 25 votes, has told Texas Watchdog, he will not seek a recount. Fonseca’s statment: “After examining the official election results, I have decided that a recount is not an option that would change the outcome of this election. I congratulate Mr. Rodriguez on his re-election. I am honored to have worked with the many supporters and volunteers in my campaign for HISD Trustee. I thank everyone that stood behind me throughout this time. I am very proud of our campaign team and I hope that we have set an example for our next generation of leaders on how a campaign should be executed.”

Well, with the campaign officially over, the campaign to remove Manuel Rodriguez from the HISD Board continues. I just saw a new website taking shape explaining all that went on during the last last days of the HISD-3 race up to the protest at the HISD Board meeting in which community leaders and students called out Rodriguez publicly. HISDBully.org is the site, so, check it out.

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Posted in Chicano Politics, Houston Politica, HoustonVotes '11, K-12 Education

LGBT and Community Protests Rodriguez at HISD

Posted on November 10, 2011 | 1 Comment

A small, but vocal group of community members held a protest outside of the HISD headquarters calling out HISD Board member Manuel Rodriguez for an anti-LGBT campaign flyer attacking his opponent, Ramiro Fonseca.

Rodriguez got just enough votes to seem like the winner on Tuesday night, and Fonseca is awaiting the canvassing of the votes before making any decisions on which direction to take.

Organized by activist Mike Pomeroy, representatives of the GLBT Caucus, Stonewall Dems, Young Democrats, HISD students, and vocal members from the Latino community came together to voice their displeasure regarding Rodriguez’s desperate tactic.

Rodriguez released what he called an apology, but for those in the protest, it was too little too late. Citing  that the flyers were being delivered house-to-house, as well as at polling locations on election day, some felt the apology was empty.

The Chron had more from inside the meeting:

Inside the board meeting, Rodriguez did not address the campaign ad controversy during the open comment period for trustees. But his colleagues, trustees Anna Eastman and Juliet Stipeche did, without mentioning Rodriguez or the ad.

Stipeche read a list of names of children who committed suicide after being bullied.

“Living by the golden rule, we do not bully and we do not judge others for who they are,” Stipeche said, drawing a standing ovation from some in the audience.

And then this.

UPDATE (7:45 p.m.): After hearing from several impassioned speakers who called Rodriguez’s campaign ad unethical, the HISD trustees voted unanimously to work on revising their own ethics policy to forbid discrimination based on sexuality.

Trustee Anna Eastman proposed the revision. Rodriguez voted in favor of the change but did not make any comments.

Trustee Carol Mims Galloway joined her colleagues, Eastman and Stipeche, in condemning Rodriguez’s ad. Galloway said she was apologizing on Rodriguez’s behalf. She said she believed he supported the district’s anti-discrimination policy. “But I guess when it comes to politics, people forget,” Galloway added.

Rodriguez sure earned himself all of this. Galloway is correct, though. Politicians are usually immune after using hateful language, whether it is toward the LGBT community, the Latino or immigrant community, etc. It seems the politicians easily separate things because it’s just politics, as the Republican presidential debates have exhibited. This needs to change.

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Posted in Bigots and Liars, K-12 Education, Unidos Con GLBT

HISD-4, -3 Candidates Spar on “This Week…”

Posted on October 18, 2011 | Comments Off

I was privileged to co-moderate candidate forums for HISD District 4 and 3 on This Week With Sylvia Garcia this morning on UCTCRadio.com. For the District 4 race, there were some fireworks.

District 4

Challenger Davetta Daniels offered her experience and successes as a school leader as her qualifications for the position. Daniels feels that the incumbent needs to be replaced in order to “put the trust back in trustee.”  Incumbent Paula Harris offered a track record of growth that must be continued as the reason she should be returned to the board, citing before and after numbers regarding drop-out rates and other statistics.

Things took a turn for the heated after the question was asked about the new ethics policy that was recently approved by the school board, which had been going through recent public scrutiny because of board member contact with prospective and current vendors. According to Incumbent Harris, the media hyped up the ethics issue as there were no findings that any improprieties had occurred between board members and vendors. Challenger Daniels responded by reiterating what had been in the press regarding a trip to Italy by Harris and an HISD vendor who is a friend of Harris. Regarding ethics, Harris pointed to an e-mail her challenger sent to her asking for a job, even stating that the challenger would not run against her if she gave her job. Harris called it illegal; however, Daniels stated that she did send it seeing how there were Principals missing in various schools.

When asked about support for the Apollo program, Incumbent Harris stated that she was in support of it and its intent to help those children with the most needs, even spending more on them. Challenger Daniels stated she supported some aspects of the program; however, was concerned about its cost and how the money for this program is being spent. Harris stated that the millions of dollars which funded Apollo was provided by private donations; however, Daniels was adamant about an accounting of the dollars.

HISD did not the raise property tax rate for this budget, but because the cut in K-12 funds by the Republican legislature will provide  bigger challenges to school boards next year, would either of them support a tax increase?Challenger Daniels believes that board members need to look at how each dollar is being spent, i.e., vendor contracts. Harris stated that much like in this last budget process, everything has to be on the table. Harris reminded us that the next budget process begins in January.

A very intense forum for a very intense race for HISD-4. The best of luck to both candidates.

District 3

The HISD-District 3 Forum was a bit more subdued, yet informative. Challenger Ramiro Fonseca, a higher education professional, stated he was running to provide constituents with better representation, seeing a need to provide leadership on the various challenges the district faces. For incumbent Manuel Rodriguez, he would like to stay to continue the representation he has provided, noting the progress that the district has made during his time on the board.

On the Apollo Program both candidates were supportive, with incumbent Rodriguez calling the program an “emergency room” for what is ailing the school district. Challenger Fonseca, on other hand, called the program a reactive one which he would like to see turned into one that is more proactive and offered district-wide, including an increase in early childhood education investment.

On Ethics, Rodriguez stated that HISD has the strongest ethics policy of school districts in the area, and he is committed to transparency. Fonseca stated that he is also a supporter of transparency in government; however, that nothing bothered him more than seeing HISD being talked about in the media regarding ethics issues.

Finally, on the budget, Rodriguez pointed to the legislature’s cuts to K-12 funding being a direct result of HISD’s financial challenges; however, that the board was able to get by with losing only around 300 teachers. Fonseca reiterated his call for transparency, a commitment to ensuring the children are provided the best, and that everything is on the table for next year’s budget.

Looks like the voters of District 4 and District 3 have some choices to make.

Early voting begins on Monday, October 24. Click here for a list of Early Voting sites.

Thanks again to Sylvia Garcia for the service she provides to listeners and candidates. And thanks to the candidates for making my Tuesday a little bit more exciting–especially today!

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Posted in Chicano Politics, Houston Politica, HoustonVotes '11, K-12 Education, LatinoVote '11

Houston ISD Finance Reports Are Out

Posted on October 12, 2011 | Comments Off

Ericka Mellon at the Chron Education Blog reports on the latest finance reports for Houston ISD Trustees and their challengers. I tried looking on the HISD website for the reports to look at specifics beyond the numbers, but it is yet to be updated–unless it’s hidden somewhere.  One thing is for sure, HISD School Board needs to have an updated system to search for these reports.

Harris, who is seeking re-election to the District IV seat, has $37,577 on hand, according to her report. She raised $17,150 this reporting period. She has spent about two-thirds of that and has outstanding loans of $17,500.

Harris’ challenger, Davetta Daniels, raised $12,048 this reporting period and has $4,104.25 on hand after spending.

Ramiro Fonseca, who is challenging Manuel Rodriguez Jr. for the District III seat, brought in the most money of all the candidates this reporting period. He raised $19,490, compared with Rodriguez’s $10,206.

In the District VIII race, incumbent Juliet Stipeche has raised nearly six times the amount of her challenger, Dorothy Olmos.

Adding:

District VIII - Dorothy Olmos

Total contributions: $2,450
Total spent: $2,064.74
Amount on hand: $385.26
Outstanding loans: $2,500

District VIII – Juliet Stipeche

Total contributions: $14,550
Total spent: $18,536.71
Amount on hand: $4,072.51

DosCentavos hasn’t been following the races much this time around, although I am rooting for Juliet Stipeche in HISD-8. Other than some of the controversies surrounding Twitter blocks and contracts with vendors, which probably won’t take hold in single-member district elections without some “real money” to mass communicate, this will be a low-turnout election whose winners will win on shoe leather and “hand-kissing and baby-shaking.”

Still, it would be good to see the reports.

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Posted in Houston Politica, K-12 Education, LatinoVote '11

Grad Rates Suffer During Enrollment Boom

Posted on October 6, 2011 | Comments Off

You mean, the recruitment of underprepared high school graduates into our Texas colleges and universities didn’t automatically amount to increased graduation rates?

In Texas, only 20 of every 100 students who enroll at a public community college or university earn an associate’s or bachelor’s degree within twice the normal amount of time, the report found.

This isn’t news, although for some who work in the field it will probably be a source of increased frustration and stress. The State of Texas committed to “Closing the Gaps” in our universities and colleges by working more on recruitment; however, the State failed to “Close the Deal” by failing to adequately fund First Time In College and college retention efforts; not to mention decreasing the value of financial aid through tuition deregulation and cuts to scholarships and aid.

The failure to fully fund, and now, cut K-12 education will only add to the problem with few solutions that are well-funded being created. This “nontraditional” population in the report by Complete College Americais described as:

Graduation rates for this “new majority” are lower than for traditional students, particularly those who are part-time, older, poor, Hispanic or African American.

In other words, those who have been heavily  recruited recently to “Close the Gaps”, as well as those hit by the economy.

Republican (and a few privileged, clueless Democratic) politicians, of course, will try to lay the blame on “liberal” professors and academic advising offices, but the bottom line is that you cannot set out to “close the gaps” without addressing every single issue involved in the college going to college graduation process. In this case, we can only blame political expediency for this challenge because, certainly, colleges and universities have been doing without adequate resources for years.

The response now is to tell people, “There is no money.” But there is plenty of money which is being irresponsibly left untapped by Republican elected officials who fail to close tax and fee loopholes. And in Texas, Republicans may commit to using the Rainy Day Fund and other Education money for possible corporate welfare giveaways to oil companies. I guess we know what their priorities really are.

If those affected aren’t being targeted by the likes of Rick Perry and his wealthy buddies, then someone please explain to me this failure in leadership.

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Posted in Higher Education, K-12 Education, LatinoVote '11, LatinoVote '12, Republinutiness, Texas Dems 2012, Texas Lege, U.S. Ethnic Relations

Ramiro Fonseca Announces for HISD-3

Posted on August 24, 2011 | Comments Off

Ramiro Fonseca, a local higher education professional and community activist has filed for Trustee, Houston ISD District 3. Here’s his announcement:

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Posted in Chicano Politics, Houston Politica, HoustonVotes '11, K-12 Education, LatinoVote '11

Spread the Word: Back to School Fest on Saturday

Posted on August 3, 2011 | Comments Off

This event information comes to you from…

It’s time for Back to School!

Come out and join us as we celebrate the new school year with a

Back to School Fest

Saturday, August 6, 2011

8:00am – 12:00pm

FREE ADMISSION

George R. Brown Convention Center

backtoschoolfest@houstonisd.org

FREE

*School Supplies * HISD Educational Zone * City and Community Resources*

* Uniforms * Back-to-School Immunizations * Health Screenings * Kid Fun Zone * Entertainment *

* Prizes and Fun for the Family *

Available while supplies last

Shot Record required for Immunizations

Proof of HISD Enrollment : Student ID or Last Report Card

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Posted in K-12 Education, La Familia, Para La Gente

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