• Repurposed but not Forgiven Just when everyone thought Pearce Middle School had some breathing room, the Texas Education Agency dropped another bombshell. On Aug. 24, Education Commissioner Robert Scott informed the Austin Independent School District that the repurposed campus will not get a new Public Education Information Management System number – which means it may only have one year to turn around, not the five years expected. Ann Smisko, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said, “Staff at the TEA told us that meant the accountability history will follow Pearce.” This is a break from established policy: Eastside Memorial got a new PEIMS number when it was repurposed in 2008, restarting the state’s five-year accountability clock, and the district expected the same for Pearce. TEA Communications Director Debbie Ratcliffe said Scott regarded this as discretionary and that “by keeping the same number, we think it will keep the district accountable.” Smizko said this will not affect the repurposing plan and added, “In the end, if we make the standards, it will have no impact.” However, if Pearce remains “Academically Unacceptable” next year, Ratcliffe said, “The commissioner would look at the various options he has” – including potentially bringing in alternative management. – Richard Whittaker
• TPCN, Part II The tentative winner of the next two-year contract to administer the state’s so-called “alternatives to abortion” program is … drum roll … the Texas Pregnancy Care Network, the same agency that has been running the project since its 2006 start. That’s right, the group that formed in 2005 to take advantage of the funding, the same group that failed to meet its own “performance measures,” the very same group that family-planning advocates say has spent roughly 40% of its budget on administrative and related costs, has been chosen once again to lead the project, pending contract negotiations. (One other proposal was received, but at press time, no information about the losing group had been released.) Whether TPCN will finally get itself together and implement a true statewide project remains to be seen. This year, lawmakers successfully expanded funding for the program; previously funded at $5 million over the biennium, the program will now get an additional $3 million over the next two years – a 60% budget increase (other social service programs should be so lucky). This time around, the state has also called for a 15% administrative-spending cap. – Jordan Smith
• Open Seat Season? Texas Supreme Court Judge Scott Brister says he will be leaving his seat, effective Sept. 7. Appointed by Gov. Rick Perry in 2003, the Houston Republican won a statewide election the following year. He will now return to private practice. Brister’s early departure means Perry will have another shot at filling a seat on the state’s highest civil court. Brister becomes the second judge on the court to announce intentions to leave. Harriet O’Neill, also a Houston Republican – and the court’s only female justice – has said she will not seek re-election next year. She was appointed to the Houston bench by former Gov. George W. Bush in 1995 and first elected to the Supreme Court in 1996. Whether there is any chance a Democratic candidate will be elected to the court, which has been all Republican for more than a decade, is unclear. Democrats entered back into the game in 2006, mounting campaigns for the statewide courts after sitting it out for a while. Still, as is often the case in statewide judicial races, the winner is usually determined by strength at the top of the ticket. – J.S.
This article appears in August 28 • 2009.