Thursday, March 8,1990
The Battalion
Page 9
IFS Speaker says alternatives are local, state taxes or cutsfor bill
awmakers seek remedy to ruling
he fir« AUSTIN (AP) — House Speaker Gib Lewis
witocoiAicl Wednesday the options facing lawmakers
r a proposed $450 million bill to reform the
[ublic school finance system are simple: an in
ease in state or local taxes or budget cuts.
He said the Public Education Committee will
irobably consider legislation next week to ad-
Iress a Texas Supreme Court ruling that the
state’s public school financing method is uncon-
nson saiti stitutional.
leath pet i : After finding that the state finance system al-
■)\vs wide disparities in funding per pupil be-
ween property-poor and property-rich school
nson.whtfflistricts, the Supreme Court gave legislators until
wtitMoti M a y 1 to present a remedy.
penencedl
T «]
is walkinJ
1 knew it i
s real wei
mts in
ston. 1
tss is i
- his mini
rtant coit
ide
th my ft
hat wem
have to
iantley’s
ecome a
i broken
ad coacl
light
season,
market,
igo, and
I, “Bull
ito
Salvation Army
starts campaign
to retrieve funds
Rangen
ler con-
. a 2.93
tries for
ne runs
at Class
). He hi;
id seven
? called
louston
[ coach
eallyhit
trough,
s.
's base-
elieved
id shut
of the
,vo hit*
i.
:y were
e ninth
mil die
ed out
Brous-
oupil's
for his
and it
S.
out on
id the
acklus-
to the
er, but
id the
ouble-
at that
jt and
illiams
Lewis, D-Fort Worth, said lawmakers meeting
n a special legislative session have to come up
dth the money from somewhere.
“The determination is going to have to be
made on whether or not they are going to sup-
aort a tax increase on the state level or a tax in-
rease on the local level, because that’s going to
ie their two options,” Lewis said.
He said budget cuts through delaying prison
construction or the state Capitol renovation pro
ject could help finance the proposal, but he said
such proposals “are all very unattractive.”
I he determination is going to
have to be made on whether or not
they are going to support a tax
increase on the state level or a tax
increase on the local level, because
that’s going to be their two options.”
— Gib Lewis,
speaker of the House
’P 1
tax bill for education reforms, Lewis said House
members are waiting to see different bills before
making a decision.
“I haven’t seen anybody walk in and say, Tm
going to vote against any tax bill under any con-
clition,’ ” Lewis said.
In the Senate, a bill by Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby and
Sens. Carl Parker, D-Port Arthur, and Kent Ca-
f ierton, D-Bryan, carries a $725 million price tag
or the first year as compared to $450 million in
the House.
In other developments Wednesday, the House
passed a resolution urging the Texas Education
Agency to appeal a state Supreme Court ruling
that declared invalid a law that made it tougher
for teachers to rise on the career ladder, which
rewards teachers with higher pay for excellent
work.
The Association of Texas Professional Educa
tors opposed the bill and contended the law
signed by Gov. Bill Clements should be stricken
because it contained a clerical error on when it
became effective. The Supreme Court agreed.
But Rep. Ernestine Glossbrenner, D-Alice,
said, “You don’t want to kick out the whole bill
because of a typo.”
AUSTIN (AP) — The Salva-
ion Army said it is reopening a
fund-raising campaign to try to
idp pay off a $1.5 million con-
itnution loan and save the
agency from having to curtail its
Austin-area services.
The agency was unable to col
lect $1.5 million of nearly $5.7
million in pledges made in 1983-
M to pay for construction of its
five-year-old social service center,
Jie Austin American-Statesman
eported Tuesday.
Hardie Bowman, chairman of
he campaign committee, said if
he Salvation Army doesn’t raise
the money, it could be f orced to
repav the loan from its operating
funt^s.
He said that would mean cut-
tng or eliminating some pro
grams or services — which might
orce city and county govern
ments to pick up the slack.
Salvation Army officials said
the downturn in Austin’s econ
omy in the late 1980s kept the or
ganization from meeting its origi
nal campaign goal.
They said pledges made in
good faith when Austin was
jooming could not be kept when
he economy declined and many
of the individuals and corpora-
tions that pledged money de
clared bankruptcy.
The new center houses from
'0 to 225 people a night, serves
400 meals a day and employs 31
homeless people at minimum
wage to cook and clean.
Woman loses rights to visit son
except under state supervision
EVERMAN (AP) — A woman
charged in the alcohol poisoning
death of her 5-year-old son, who
drank 10 ounces of bourbon, has
been released from jail on $10,000
bond.
Patricia Griffin, 31, was freed
hours after a state juvenile court
judge ruled that her 2-year-old son,
Rashad, should live with his grand-
mother. Also Tuesday, Griffin was
barred from seeing her surviving
son without state supervision. The
state continues legal guardianship of
the boy.
Griffin will be allowed supervised
visits with her son, probably at a state
Department of Human Services of
fice, officials said.
Rashad was taken from his moth
er’s home last Wednesday after his
5-year-old brother Raymond died.
Police said Raymond suffered ir
reversible brain damage after being
encouraged by an adult to drink the
bourbon at a neighborhood gather
ing Feb. 25. He lapsed into a coma
and died after life support systems
were shut off.
Griffin was arrested Monday on a
charge of injury to a child by gross
negligence, a third degree felony
thgt carries a maximum 10-year
prison term. Everman police have
said she failed to seek prompt medi
cal attention for Raymond, who was
not taken to a hospital until almost
12 hours after he began having con
vulsions.
Doctors said Raymond had a
blood alcohol content of .55 percent,
five times the legal definition for in
toxication in Texas.
Heading out for
Sprint Break?
Looking for someonei©
share the ride and
try the
HitcRMfost
Located in the Main Hall, MSC
Just fill out the Need a Bide or Looking for Riders
form and put it inlhe appropriate slot.
Sponsored by MSC Hospitality
Officials say autopsy proves suicide
AUSTIN (AP) — Autopsies showed Tuesday that
Texas Racing Commission administrator David Joost
shot himself, but authorities said they haven’t deter
mined whether he killed three members of his family.
Travis County Medical Examiner Robert Bayardo
ruled that Joost, 41, died of a single, self-inflicted gun
shot wound to the chest. Bayardo said Joost had pow
der burns on his right hand.
Joost’s wife Susan, 35, died of a gunshot wound to
the back. Their daughter Lauren, 5, and son Eric, 10,
died after being shot in the chest, and Eric had a second
gunshot wound in his left shoulder.
Bayardo said the deaths occurred between 3 a.m. and
4 a.m. Sunday.
Hays County sheriffs department spokeswoman Ra
chel Vasquez said the only ballistic tests that have been
performed so far show that the bullet used to kill Mrs.
Joost, which lodged in her right arm, came from a .38
caliber weapon. She said officials could not confirm
whether the same gun killed all family members.
“At this point, the case is still under investigation, so
all we can assume at this point is that we have three
homicides and one suicide,” Vasquez said.
The four bodies were found in the family’s home in
Buda, about 12 miles southwest of Austin, on Monday.
Hays County Sheriff Paul Hastings said a revolver
was found near Joost, but he would not speculate on
whether it had been used in the shootings.
There was no sign of forced entry at the home and
“ A
r^t this point, the case is still under
investigation, so all we can assume is that
we have three homicides and one
suicide.”
— Rachel Vasquez,
Hays County sheriffs dept.
Hastings would not say whether a suicide note had been
found.
Co-workers became alarmed when Joost, who han
dled administrative duties for the Racing Commission,
failed to show up at a commission meeting Monday
morning.
Spring Break Blowout!
Miller Lite
Miller Genuine Draft
$10.49
24/12 oz. cans
Milwaukee’s Best
$6.85
Cash or Check Preferred
693-2627
SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE
i Contact Lenses ^ 1
Only Quality Name Brands OA,Ly ?
(/> m
" (Bausch & Lomb, Ciba, Barnes-Hinds-Hydrocurve) £
$
Opinion on school-funding ignites tempers
00
pr-
Your Choice
For std. daily wear, extended
wear or tinted soft lenses
AUSTIN (AP) — Education Secretary Lauro
Cavazos said Wednesday he was saddened by a
confrontation with Texas lawmakers, whose fury
erupted after he told them more money would
not cure the state’s discriminatory school-fund
ing system.
Cavazos told a joint session of his home state
Legislature that fundamental changes — not
merely “pitching money” — were the answer to
improving education.
Three Hispanic legislators left the chamber
during his speech Tuesday, and another con
fronted him afterward and then disrupted the
secretary’s news conference to raise heated objec
tions to his stance.
The Texas Legislature is under court order to
reform a school-funding system that discrimi
nates against poor districts. The order resulted
from a lawsuit brought by the predominantly
Hispanic Edgewood School District in San Anto-
Cavazos said it’s the first time he has been at
tacked by fellow Hispanic leaders since he be
came the first Hispanic Cabinet appointee in
September 1988.
“I wonder if they would have been as angry if
the person who delivered that address as secre
tary of education had not been Hispanic,” he
said. “It saddens me — not because it was a per
sonal attack — but because people I have so
much respect for take that kind of tactic, in front
of television cameras and reporters.
“What I got yesterday in Austin ... was people
who felt the solution was more dollars. It was
quite a confrontation down there. I was very dis
appointed that the whole issue had to be focused
on resources.”
Cavazos was confronted Tuesday as he walked
from the House chamber into a reporters’ meet
ing by Sen. Carlos Truan, D-Corpus Ghristi, who
then interrupted the secretary’s news conference
to take issue with his remarks.
“I feel betrayed and I feel embarrassed that
the secretary of education — a minority and
from Texas — would not take a more aggressive
position regarding the needs of education,”
Truan said Wednesday.
Truan, chairman of the Senate Hispanic Cau
cus, said Cavazos is “lacking in commitment to
the children of our state and of this country by
the comments he made here yesterday, and I re
gret that.”
Truan said he had hoped Cavazos, the former
president of Texas Tech University, would be an
advocate for the poor and disadvantaged.
“But he certainly didn’t come across that way
yesterday,” Truan said. “He came across more as
a propagandist of the Republican philosophy
and not as a dedicated educator.”
^ Ask About Our New
Bifocal Soft Lenses
« SAME DAY DELIVERY ON MOST LENSES
-J
^ Sale Ends March 30, 1990
Call 696-3754
For Appointment
CHARLES C. SCHROEPPEL, O.D., P.C.
DOCTOR OF OPTOMETRY
*Eye exam not included.
Free care kit with exam and pair of lenses.
707 South Texas Ave., Suite 101D
College Station, Texas 77840
1 block South of Texas & University
SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALEl
SINGERS ★ DANCERS ★VARIETY ACTS
1990-Atditi
Open call auditions for performers 16
years of age or older.
SINGERS must bring music in their key
and may be asked to dance. (No
a cappella auditions and no taped
accompaniment, please. A piano
and accompanist will be available.)
DANCERS will be given a combination
by our choreographer and should be
prepared to sing.
CALL-BACK AUDITIONS will be on the
Sunday following General Auditions.
Please be prepared to attend, if
selected.
ASTR0W0RLD AUDITIONS
All registrations begin 30 minutes prior to scheduled call.
FRIDAY & SATURDAY, MARCH 30 & 31
Marriott Hotel at the Astrodome, Houston, TX
(2100 S. Braeswood at Greenbriar — High
Chaparral Room)
10 a.m. — Dancers’ Call
1 p.m. — Singers’ Call
Applications will be available at audition
locations for Technical and Wardrobe positions.
SIZ FLAGS'
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
Sign a Lease at
The Forum and Party
with One Hundred of
Your Best Friends
Save up to $100 dollars over University
owned housing when you sign a full
academic year lease, complete with a 19
per week meal plan at The Forum, a new
private dormitory.
Plus, you can enjoy our great amenities
including a volleyball pit, a large pool, ex
ercise room, computer center, satellite t.v.,
and a study & game room. All rooms
have a private bathroom which in
cludes a full bathtub with shower. The
Forum has a free shuttle to and from Texas
A & M campus, housekeeping, laundry
facilities, and 24-hour on-site security.
If this sounds like a great deal to you,
give us a call at (409)822-0044.
The Forum
2300 Texas Avenue
Bryan, Texas 77801
13^
Hi
1-
Call Battalion Classified
845-2611