Saturday, January 21, 2017
Volume 118, Number 59 8 Pages $1.00 www.HerefordBRAND.com
Frigid Herd falls to Canyon; Ladies boxed in by defending champs, Sports, page 7
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Not making the grade?
City OKs Leadership donation By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor
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Like many of its counterparts throughout the state, Hereford Independent School District officials are scurrying to deal with recent results of a proposed new statewide accountability system.
Report card results ‘not complete’ By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor (EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of a two-part series into results of a proposed statewide A-F grading system for school districts and their campuses. This story looks into the concerns the system has and could continue to create. The second part will look at the comparative reality of the results and how they correspond to HISD efforts and strategies.) “It is a tale…full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” While those words were penned by William Shakespeare more than 500 years ago, Hereford Independent School District (HISD) officials and their counterparts throughout the state are seeing the sentiment of MacBeth’s statement come to life as they are having to cope with public reaction – and perception – created by state accountability results. The release earlier this month containing results of a proposed new state rating system that gives school districts and their individual campuses an A-F letter has left parents
HISD Report Card
Prelimary local results of a proposed A-F grade accountability system for Texas public schools has left parents and communities shocked as school officials scramble to calm concerns.
HISD Aikman Elementary Bluebonnet Elementary Northwest Elementary Tierra Blanca Elementary West Central Elementary Hereford Junior High HPA Hereford High HCAL
2016 TEA RATING
DOMAIN I Student Achievement
DOMAIN II Student Progress
Met Standard Met Standard Met Standard Met Standard Met Standard Met Standard Met Standard Met Standard Met Standard Met Standard
D C C C C D C F F D
C A C B A D D C D C
DOMAIN III DOMAIN IV Closing Postsecondary the Gaps Readiness
C A B B C D C D D D
D B C C C D B B C C
source: Texas Education Agency
and communities aghast and school officials scrambling to calm concerns and fears. “These findings are very preliminary,” HISD Superintendent Sheri Blankenship said. “This report was specifically done for the state legislature, but once it was released it became public record. “We were originally told any results would not be released until 2018.”
Under the proposed system, districts and schools are to be given letter grades in five “domains” of accountability. One of the initial concerns, Blankenship said, was that only four of those domains – student achievement (Domain I), student progress (Domain II), closing the gaps (Domain III) and postsecondary readiness (Domain IV) – were used for the initial results.
Nominations sought for Citizen of Year
Wrong way, bro'
From Contributed Sources
The Hereford Lions Club Past President’s Committee is preparing to meet and select the 2016 Citizen of the Year. The award is then annually presented at the Deaf Smith County Chamber of Commerce banquet, which will take place this year on Thursday, Feb. 16. According to chamber execuative director Sid Shaw, the public has always had the opportunity to present nominees to the committee. NominaSHAW tions from the public must be submitted in writing in a sealed envelope. When nominating please explain why this nominee is deserving of the award. All nominations must be turned into PLEASE SEE NOMINEES | 3
Domain V, which records community and student engagement, was not included in the results. For most school districts – including HISD – those results were not favorable. As an overall district, HISD received a D for Domain I, Cs for Domains II and III, and a D for Domain IV. In terms of individual cam-
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There’s nothing like a day at the park when winter weather breaks for few days in the Panhandle, however, 2-year-old Violett Martinez did find play time at Hereford’s Central Park a bit trying as 1-year-old brother Adriel could not get the routine right for the slide.
PLEASE SEE GRADES | 2
Leadership Hereford’s search for funding received a boost, and the coffers were a tad fuller after the Hereford City Commission approved a donation to the program during its regular meeting Monday. Hereford Economic Development Corporation (HEDC) executive director Michael Kitten addressed the issue to commissioners during Monday’s work session and officially got the OK during the subsequent meeting. “The program started with a $10,000 donation from HEDC two years ago,” Kitten said. “The HEDC board approved another $10,000 donation, and we need your approval to make it official. “The first class is going great, but we still have a little financial bump to get over.” KITTEN The inaugural Leadership class of 12 students is roughly half-way through its nine-month course of monthly classes that explores all aspects of the county’s elected bodies and civic organizations. The program, a staple in a large number of communities throughout the nation, is designed to inform and engage citizens into assuming more leadership roles and activities in their respective communities. The program curriculum encompasses a variety of civic topics, which includes attending meetings of each elected body and touring government facilities. “We are pursuing several grants, but have yet to hear back on some,” Kitten said. “We now need an influx of cash to finish the first class and reseed for the second.” The inaugural class, which started in September, ends in May and has proven to be popular. Kitten said the second class, which will begin in September, is expected to be double in size with 20-25 students. “We’re getting a good buy-in from those we have asked to help contribute,” he said. “The current tuition ($1,250) covers the class cost, but we’re also paying an executive director. “If we can get 20-25 students per class, then a slight tuition hike combined with grants should have it self-sustaining.” Kitten added that conversations with Leadership officials in other cities have revealed the program is “difficult to get off the ground, but well worth the effort.”
Changes are literally paying off for HRMC By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor Alterations in billing practices and raising prices closer to federal minimums are showing their advantages for Hereford Regional Medical Center (HRMC). Between financial reports and an update on the transition of billing systems, the Deaf Smith County Hospital District (DSCHD) Board of Directors received the good news at Thursday’s regular meeting. “We are seeing an increase in cash collections,” DSCHD CFO Noralene Corder said. “I feel pretty good about those right now. We should continue to show a gradual pick up in those over the next two months before a big jump in March. “I like to see an increase in
cash.” Corder reported that hospital revenues for November were up $240,000 from the previous year. In addition, reports through December showed HRMC had a year-to-date profit of more than $140,000. “We had a pretty good November and December,” Corder said. “We had a good first quarter.” DSCHD’s fiscal year runs from Oct. 1-Sept. 30. Corder did caution that her reported numbers did not include “write-off debt.” The adjustment, she said, will come in March because federal mandates require attempts be made to collect outstanding bills for 120 days before they can be written off. Much of the success with PLEASE SEE HRMC | 2