Larry Lewis comes back to Best Southwest

You Lancasterites will love this one in south suburban Dallas.

The "late," not so lamented Larry Lewis, former Lancaster ISD superintendent, is now an interim assistant principal in Cedar Hill.

That said, showing how the Dallas Morning News' knowledge of the area has gotten ever thinner, and isn't challenged since I and Today Newspapers are no longer around, the Snooze story has one big error of commission and one of omission.

The error of commission claims Lewis hasn't worked since Lancaster let him go. NOT TRUE.

He was still peddling insurance, or consulting, or whatever, for AFLAC some time after that, because it became a matter of dispute in his settlement terms.

The error of ommission? Lewis' ex-wife, Sylvia (divorced after Lancaster canned him - I could say more) still works in Cedar Hill ISD as Highlands Elementary's principal.

"Ohhh, my," as George Takei would say!

Ohh, last I knew, Lewis' first ex-wife was still in Duncanville.

There's still DeSoto, Larry.

Also, per one commenter to the Snooze piece, why the rush, I rhetorically ask CHISD Superintendent Horace Williams? You've only got two months of school left. Second, did you talk to Sylvia about this at all? Third, as an interim hiring, did this dodge having to talk to the school board?

Cedar Hill kicker says ‘Souueee – go Hogs’

Placekicker Eddi Camara from Cedar Hill (Texas) High, just a junior but already considered one of the best kickers in the country, has given oral commitment to Arkansas.

The ‘Big Chill’ could hit Cedar Hill classrooms this winter

At its most recent meeting, the Cedar Hill School Board discussed setting a district energy policy for the upcoming school year. If passed, that energy policy could include this:

A district energy policy, which Chief Financial Officer Mike McSwain presented to the board for initial reading, would ban space heaters in classrooms, among other things.

Personal refrigerators, coffee makers and microwaves will also be verboten from classrooms if the new policy is adopted.

The energy policy in general seems to presume teachers and students are cold-blooded. It calls for classroom air conditioning to be at 74 degrees, but heating at just 65 degrees.

If you're a basketball or volleyball player, though, you get the extra winter comfort of 68 degrees in gyms.

I think 67, while offering energy savings a degree off 65, would be good enough. That said, at older school buildings, space heaters might be an electric safety issue as much as an energy issue.

Cedar Hill ISD looking at 13-cent tax hike

Due to the way the Texas Lege “equalized” school funding in the last session, in essence putting a hard cap on school districts’ state assistance, more and more school districts could be in CHISD shoes in the near future.

And, Cedar Hill is using the idea of 13 “pennies,” with a penny each for different programs, such as fine arts, to sell the idea.

Cedar Hill ISD Superintendent Horace Williams and Chief Financial Officer Mike McSwain explained that state funding caps on Cedar Hill - and other school districts that are likely to be in similar boats - is why the district is taking a hard look at the idea.

“We have a targeted revenue,” McSwain said.

And, that is $4,862 per what is known as a “weighted student,” with extra money for special education, free or reduced-price lunch, gifted and talented and career and technology education students.

So, if housing prices appraise significantly upward in Cedar Hill, the state cuts its degree of support, to maintain the overall funding level at that revenue target.

McSwain doesn't expect any major relief from the next session of the Texas Legislature. And, that $4,862 has no inflationary adjustment, either.

The 13-cent increase, from $1.04 to $1.17 per $100 valuation, is the top allowable rate.

Dallas-area school districts charging kids to ride the bus

At least for extracurricular activities, some Dallas school districts are asking kids to pony up for the trip there.

At Richardson ISD, it’s going to be $5 a person for an in-town trip to UTD. Out-of-town trips are out.

Richardson ISD estimates that it will pay $259,000 to fuel its fleet of buses this school year, much higher than the $139,000 paid in 2004-05.

Dallas County Schools, which provides regular bus service to Dallas ISD and Cedar Hill in the Best Southwest, among suburban school districts, is trying to adapt. It’s got some propane buses in its Lancaster yard, but there are drawbacks to it.

Fort Worth ISD is buying more high-aerodynamics buses.

I have a suggestion – start buying hybrid buses.

(Oh, look for school lunch prices to go up, too.)

Abstinence-only sex ed coming to Cedar Hill schools

At its May 12 meeting, the Cedar Hill ISD school board got an information item from Superintendent Horace Williams about a mentoring program, one that includes abstinence-only sexual education, that wants to come to the district, with a financial partnership as part of that.

Williams said that Rev. Tony Evans, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship (aka “George Bush’s pastor”), and some other ministers, wanted to bring 250 mentors to the district on a weekly basis as part of Project Turn-Around.

“This will go a long way toward dealing with some of the problems some of our students have. I’m not talking about drugs, but about home lives,” Williams said. “They’re not here to proselytize, but to help. Duncanville has had this.”

The school board agenda packet mentioned abstinence-only sex education as

The district would pay half of a program coordinator’s salary, estimated at $35,000.
The possible contracting with the program was presented to the board as an information item.

Technically, abstinence-only is not religious, but, if a Cedar Hill High School kid asks one of Evans’ mentors why they should be abstinent, five bucks says that kid gets a “Jesus” answer.