he Battalion TATE & LOCAL 3 : riday, March 23,1990 ^hnendment increases budget by $511M Ouse debates education finance bill kh Center i. The “ferend iter 'feefrr- AUSTIN (AP) — Public schools would get an sdmated $511 million more in 1990-91 under n education finance reform bill amended hursday by the Texas House, will ii ■* ate a f ternoon > lawmakers had considered l "'0"'Bibo U t 30 amendments, but Rep. Ernestine Glos- ■brenner, L)-Alice, had fought off most major 5 Bhanges to her measure. ians,nurse* Legislators planned to offer dozens more Ttmendments to the bill. Speaker Gib Lewis, D- l ort Worth, said he expected the House to work Into the night to pass school finance reform legis- ation. Legislative leaders said the House bill would Ind up in a conference committee to work out lifferences with a $1.2 billion Senate measure Defore the special session expires at midnight Wednesday. The cost of Glossbrenner’s bill was increased rom $450 million through amendments adding 45 million to make up for underestimated stu- lent enrollment this school year, and $16 million 'e the (junior drug and alcohol intervention, g costs:. A’ 1 amendment requiring the state to pay for ®ts education mandates, with some exceptions, Iso was approved. But lawmakers rejected a proposal to whittle he bill’s cost to $260 million, and another to di sease it to $950 million next school year. The proposed $260 million amendment, //aniinir which included recommendations by Gov. Bill r mmt, Mi ppointmt! onevisitti) f costs at li 1 enable tlf! t ? Wnh it i aln-L rsit), Coll/gi iswered m by Par iative (“So a little gt but ratal iathv Lot taper, tv rsation rt ailed lar become t cultural hem Tar tuff reserw naintain Ik inted. Ed wne numtn ’ to 1 n countri ident ifficulttf gica! , simply from ver ' 1 tl tblybe be siniib i tic parii^ e extreni* could ^ r ross the itic barm r way,' 1 ivt, isni Glements’ education task force and was in his price range, was tabled 85-61, with the bulk of its support coming from Republicans. “Everyone of us cares about education in this state,†said Rep. Alan Schoolcraft, R-Universal City, who offered the amendment. “What we’re talking about is not just money. We’re talking about, ‘What is it we want for the future?’ †The amendment would allow the Legislature to avoid raising state taxes, Schoolcraft said. But Glossbrenner urged lawmakers to support her bill, which would phase in changes over five years, to make the school financing equitable. “We need to face up to the fact that education is going ter be expensive,†she said. Glossbrenner also spoke against an amend ment by Rep. Gregory Luna, D-San Antonio, that would have added $500 million to the bill’s cost, saying she did not know how the state would raise that much money. Luna said that should not be the criteria: “Vote for what is needed. Then we’ll consider where the money is going to come from.†His amendment was tabled 110-37. Lawmakers are working to address a Texas Supreme Court ruling that the school finance system is unconstitutional because of disparities between property-rich and -poor school districts. The $13.5 billion-a-year public school system re lies on a combination of state aid, local property taxes and federal funds. Clements has promised to veto any bill above the no-new-taxes level, which he has estimated at $200 million to $300 million for 1990-91. Most of the additional funding in Glossbren ner’s bill would be poured into the guaranteed yield program, in which schools are assured a certain amount of money, through state and local funds combined, if they impose property taxes at a certain level. The basic allotment per student, currently $1,477, would be $1,500 next school year under the bill, the same as provided under current law. The measure also includes provisions de signed to improve education. Among them: • The school year would by lengthened from 175 to 180 days. • Power to make education policy would be transferred from the State Board of Education to the education commissioner. The commissioner, currently appointed by the education board, would be named by the governor, with Senate consent, from candidates recommended by legis lative leaders. • School boards would be required to make public an annual report for each campus. • Schools that demonstrate they are doing a good job of educating students would be f reed of a number of state regulations. • Funds would be created for technology and tuition assistance. ‘Texas Chain Store Massacre’ Japanese company buys 7-Eleven chain DALLAS (AP) — The founder of 7-Kleven, a pioneer of convenience shopping and one of the best-known store chains, said Thursday it’s sell ing control to a Japanese company because of crushing debts from a junk bond-financed buyout. The announcement by Southland Corp., which owns 7,000 7-Elevens in the United States, is one of the most dramatic examples yet of the problems facing U.S. companies that participated in the junk-bond craze sfthe 1980s. Southland said it agreed to sell 75 percent of its common stock for $400 million to Ito-Yokado Co. Ltd., Japan’s second-largest supermarket operator, and longtime Southland affiliate 7-Eleven Japan, which Ito- Yokado controls. Besides the company-owned 7- Elevens, the deal includes South land’s six food processing centers and five distribution centers. Southland, which sought the Jap anese buyer, said the deal hinges on the company’s ability to get 32 bank creditors to restructure terms of its outstanding preferred stock and $1.8 billion in debt. Much of the debt is in high-interest junk bonds used to finance the $4.9 billion lever aged buyout by its founding Thompson family in 1987. Almost immediately after the buyout, dubbed by Wall Street as the “Texas Chain Store Massacre,†the company had problems meeting huge debt payments. It attempted to raise cash partly by selling such as sets as a half-interest in Citgo Petro leum Corp., a major refiner. 7-Eleven is the world's largest con venience store chain, offering items ranging from milk and frozen foods to newspapers, hot coffee, video rentals and “Slurpee†slushed ice drinks. “We believe this transaction is nec essary to preserve the business we’ve built...†said John P. Thompson, Southland’s chairman. Thompson’s family will retain a 15 percent stake in the company and positions on the board of directors. Geography students return from vacation with water samples By SELINA GONZALEZ Of The Battalion Staff While some Texas A&M stu dents returned from spring break with a tan or a hangover, students in some physical geography labs brought water samples from their vacation spots. Greg Schlenker, graduate tea ching assistant in the geography department, said the students tested the quality of different wa ter samples including samples from the A&M campus and Bryan and College Station. Although it appears the quality of campus water is poorer than that of Bryan-College Station, Schlenker said the area water quality in general rates average compared to areas tested by the students. The water properties eval uated were copper, iron, pH level, sulfates, sodium chloride, total dissolved solids, nitrates and total chlorine. “There may be other chemicals or elements in the water system that we aren’t detecting because we aren’t looking for them,†he said. Some of the water samples were from such areas as Central America, California, Utah, Flor ida and all across Texas, Schlenker said. The test results showed the so dium chloride content in campus water to be slightly higher than in water of Bryan and College Sta tion, Schlenker said. Total dis solved solids and copper were comparable to Bryan-College Sta tion water, while total chlorine was slightly lower on campus than in the community. The chlorine level of the Bryan-College Station water level rates in the middle of the range of areas tested. “Austin uses a lot more chlo rine because they have a lot of sulfates and higher incidences of bacteria in their water supply,†he said. “Chlorine has a strong im pact on the water’s taste.†Although chlorine is used to get rid of bacteria of living orga nisms in the water supply, Schlenker said, it has a negative effect on humans over the long term and in high doses. Schlenker said improving the water quality can be expensive. “Studies of the sink-top carbon filtration water treatment system indicated higher quantities of so dium chloride and the chloride salts than untreated water, but we had almost complete removal of chlorine,†Schlenker said. The water tasted better be cause it was conditioned or soft ened. “The best quality water indi cated by our ranking was the vending machine water from in front of the supermarket,†he said. The reverse osmosis method, which is expensive and popular, is used to purify this water. “In this process, the water is fil tered through some kind of membrane which takes it down to approximately the size of a water molecule removing all the impu- rifications,†Schlenker said. There is a remarkable im provement when comparing un treated College Station water to reverse osmosis College Station water, he said. Got Those After Spring Break Blues? Traditions Council has a solution! ite stu^ n Jt' /r *1/ HOWDY JAM Sat. March 24th Texas Hall of Fame $2 00 with a student I.D, Remember to keep saying “Howdy†you could win $100! Drawing to be held at Midnight at the Hall of Fame T-shirts $8 00 on sale in the MSC HOWD)/ HOWDY! It’s not just a word, it’s a tradition. Sponsored by Traditions Council and Student Government Look out below It’s time you gave yourself a GSE If you’re sexually active, you should know about the GSE. GSE stands for genital self-examination. Ifs a simple examination you can give yourself to check for any signs or symptoms of a sexually transmitted disease. Send for your free GSE Guide today. Be cause when it comes to sexual relationships, there are some important things to look out for. To receive your free GSE Guide, simply fill out and return the coupon or call, toll-free, 1-800-234-1124. Sponsored by Burroughs Wellcome Co. in conjunction with the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of General Practifioners in Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery, the American College Health Association, the American Osteopathic Association, and the American Social Health Association Copr. © 1989 Burroughs Wellcome Co. All rights reserved. For your free GSE Guide, fill out this coupon and mail to: GSE, FO. Box 4088, Woburn, MA 01888-4088 Name (please print) City State ZIP □ English version □ Spanish'version | Are you over 18 years of age? □ Yes □ No You left to make your mark. Now come home for the same reason. At Nippon Motorola Ltd., we know the pride you feel in your American academic achievements, and your desire to apply your skills in a supportive environment when you return home. We are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Motorola Inc., one of the world's leading manufacturers of communica tion systems, semiconductor devices, automotive and industrial electrical components, and information systems equipment. As one of Japan's most highly respected American high-tech companies, our dynamic expansion means we can offer Japanese students who have studied in the U.S. a number of summer internships in the U.S. and Japan. Full-time career opportunities in both technical and non technical positions are available at our Tokyo, Osaka, Sen dai and Aizuwakamatsu facilities, and require superior Japanese communication skills, both written and spoken. If you missed our on-campus visit and are interested in summer internships or full-time career opportunities with Nippon Motorola Ltd., please complete the coupon below or call collect (602) 994-6394. <8> YES! I'm interested in pursuing a future in Japan with Motorola's wholly owned subsidiary - Motorola Ltd., in the following areas. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING ACCOUNTING & FINANCE SOFTWARE ENGINEERING MIS/COMPUTER SCIENCE SUPPORT/PERSONNEL ADDRESS CITY PHONE NUMBER( SCHOOI : EXPECTED DATE OF GRADUATION DEGREE CITIZEN OF Where did you attend high school? C japan Equal Opportunity Employer MAJOR _ VISA * and TYPE„ MOTOROLA INC. Please fill out coupon and mail to: Nippon Motorola Ltd. College Relations 725 S. Madison Drive Tempe, AZ 85281.