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Two school districts embroiled in racial tug of war (this one has it all: choice, naacp, money tug)
Houston Chronicle ^ | August 13, 2005 | JENNIFER RADCLIFFE and RENEE C. LEE

Posted on 08/13/2005 12:54:13 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife

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LIBERALS are trying to make this a racial issue, when in fact it is an education issue. I think this one is headed to the Supreme Court. It will have major implications on school choice.

This story two years ago: Schools at odds in racial division - Hearne ISD sues nearby Mumford for "white flight"***........The accusations of racism sting, said Mumford Superintendent Pete Bienski Jr.

Mumford's growth has never been about race or money, but about educating children, he said. To prove it, Bienski has his own statistics.

Of the 342 students who transferred to Mumford last year, 268 came from Hearne. Of the Hearne transfers, 156 were black or Hispanic.

"This is not a white school. We take all kids," Bienski said. "People come to Mumford because they know they are getting a better education. We don't recruit kids. Parents do our recruiting for us by word of mouth."

Bienski doesn't deny that Mumford relies on the state aid it receives for the transfers, but he insists that has not been the secret to the school district's recent success. Mumford has been successful, Bienski says, because it does more with less.

There is some evidence of that.

Bienski serves not only as the school district superintendent, but also as the principal of all three campuses. When the district began its aggressive building campaign in 1997, Bienski served as the general contractor, saving the district millions of dollars. The district owns all three campuses outright.

The school district stocked its computer labs by taking advantage of grant programs. When it launched its high school a few years ago, it focused on academics and avoided costly athletic programs such as football. ....***

1 posted on 08/13/2005 12:54:15 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
"We complained and said they're taking a whole bunch of our kids," said attorney Roger Hepworth, who is representing Hearne. "They run their buses right into our district and pick them all up."

School districts in Texas receive at least $5,500 in state funding for each child enrolled.

Uh huh... I thought so. Follow the money.

2 posted on 08/13/2005 1:01:52 AM PDT by clee1 (We use 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, and 2 to pull a trigger. I'm lazy and I'm tired of smiling.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

So if I get this right, the white kids are tranferring to a school dist. with fewer black kids because their old district is too dangerous and they are not getting a good education.


What's the problem?


3 posted on 08/13/2005 1:04:08 AM PDT by trubluolyguy (The defense of our nation should begin at the borders...Mr President?.....George?)
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To: clee1
Yes! LIBERALS want the money and the bodies to bring it in.

Look at how Mumford tightened its belt and stretched their money! (Post#1)

4 posted on 08/13/2005 1:05:02 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: trubluolyguy

It's more than that. Read the end of the story and Post #1. As usual, the msm hides the other side at the end of the article.


5 posted on 08/13/2005 1:06:12 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

I saw that.

Liberals get absolutely livid when their indoctrination schemes and/or tax dollar fleecing goes awry.


6 posted on 08/13/2005 1:11:50 AM PDT by clee1 (We use 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, and 2 to pull a trigger. I'm lazy and I'm tired of smiling.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
Your absolutely right.

Is it wrong for a parent of any color to want the best education for their child.

Evidently the one school wasn't doing a very good job at teaching their students.

Since this was written by the Houston Crapnonical I would bet this is not the real story.

Maybe the one school is eat up with political correctness.

What ever, I would be interested in seeing their pupil test scores and evaluations.

I think personally that it is unconscionable for any student to attend a school where they can not receive a quality education.

Check this out and let us know if there is more information as to why students really made transfers.
7 posted on 08/13/2005 1:13:21 AM PDT by OKIEDOC (There's nothing like hearing someone say thank you for your help.)
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To: clee1

They certainly do!

NEA and local school unions are going to fight this tooth and nail. Who knows, in time this could lead to demands that qualified teachers inhabit classrooms not just union members.


8 posted on 08/13/2005 1:14:50 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: OKIEDOC

There's some more in the LINKED article.


9 posted on 08/13/2005 1:15:52 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
Bienski serves not only as the school district superintendent, but also as the principal of all three campuses. When the district began its aggressive building campaign in 1997, Bienski served as the general contractor, saving the district millions of dollars. The district owns all three campuses outright.

Hearns needs on of these.
10 posted on 08/13/2005 1:28:44 AM PDT by carumba
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To: OKIEDOC; Dr. Marten
I found more on the initial ruling that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency stay:

August 10, 2005 Judge Orders Whites to Attend Black School***Hundreds of students who have transferred from Hearne to the Mumford Independent School District will have to go home to reverse an illegal "white flight" trend that has segregated the districts, according to a ruling delivered out of a federal court in Tyler last week.

In the 110-page document, Senior U.S. District Court Judge William Wayne Justice described Mumford as maintaining a "pattern of fraudulent conduct" in past years as it solicited transfers from Hearne, increasing its enrollment of white students over a 10-year period by 3,540 percent.

The lawsuit was filed by the Hearne school district and three of its students in July 2003. It was based, in part, on the argument that Mumford's actions have been in direct contrast to "No. 5821" - shorthand for a 1970 civil case that stated "no student in Texas will be effectively excluded from equal educational opportunities based on race, color or national origin."

"Mumford has shown consistent and persistent willingness to circumvent the requirements of No. 5281 whenever possible," Justice wrote in the Thursday ruling.

The judge's ruling permanently bars the Texas Education Agency from funding transfers to Mumford that "reduce or impeded racial desegregation at Hearne Independent School District." Districts receive about $5,500 funding from the agency for each student.

Mumford also was ordered to no longer host Hearne students currently attending its schools.

In addition, Justice ordered the TEA to assign a monitor to Mumford to ensure compliance with the ruling from now until the end of the 2007-08 school year.

In response to the accusations, Mumford had argued that "it cannot be determined that [the district's] acceptance of transfers has had a segregative effect on Hearne," according to court documents.

However, Justice sternly dismissed the contention, accusing the school district of apparently having a "misunderstanding of basic arithmetic."....***

11 posted on 08/13/2005 1:30:45 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Born Conservative

Home school ping please.


12 posted on 08/13/2005 1:31:22 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: carumba

Yes. How dare they be fiscally responsible and TEACH too!


13 posted on 08/13/2005 1:32:02 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
I suspect this is also very much a William Wayne Justice problem, too; he'd rubber stamp anything the liberals brought him.

If that's the case, the Fifth Circuit will slap him down in short order. They're not handy with emergency stay orders, so we're on a roll.

Not to change the subject, but is anyone hollering about making the Hearne school worth attending? Maybe a regime change? Superintendent/Principal x 3/General Contractor/Cost Cutter Bienski sounds like my kind of school administrator--do they have any more of him?

There must be people of many races stuck in the district and unable to transfer; why aren't they raising Cain over their own district's management? Surely they're not all backing this shakedown!

14 posted on 08/13/2005 1:47:52 AM PDT by umbagi (Monthly donor [entry level])
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To: All

HEARNE ISD
198-905
REGION 06 mail:
900 WHEELOCK ST
HEARNE 77859-3096
site:
900 WHEELOCK ST
HEARNE 77859-3096
phone:
(979) 279-3200
fax:
(979) 279-3631
email:
ddeaver@hearne.k12.tx.us
url:
www.hearne.k12.tx.us


DAVID DEAVER 1229
MUMFORD ISD
198-906
REGION 06 mail:
P O BOX 268
MUMFORD 77867-0268
site:
F M #50
MUMFORD 77867-0268
phone:
(979) 279-3678
fax:
(979) 279-5044
email:
pbienski@mumford.k12.tx.us
url:
www.mumford.k12.tx.us/
PETE J BIENSKI JR 463


15 posted on 08/13/2005 1:50:52 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: umbagi
Exactly!

As noted in Post #1 .....Of the 342 students who transferred to Mumford last year, 268 came from Hearne. Of the Hearne transfers, 156 were black or Hispanic. ......

But Judge Justice (good Lord) can't buck the LIBERALS.

16 posted on 08/13/2005 1:54:02 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: OKIEDOC; All

2006 DISTRICT NAME: MUMFORD ISD
DISTRICT NUMBER: 198906
ACCOUNTABILITY RATING: Academically Acceptable
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUMMARY

ACCOUNTABILITY RATINGS

NUMBER
OF
CAMPUS RATING: SCHOOLS

EXEMPLARY 0
RECOGNIZED 2
ACADEMICALLY ACCEPTABLE 0
ACADEMICALLY UNACCEPTABLE 0
AEA: ACADEMICALLY ACCEPTABLE 0
AEA: ACADEMICALLY UNACCEPTABLE 0
NOT RATED: OTHER 0
___

TOTAL 2
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Campus Name Links to the Accountability Data Table

CAMPUS LIST (in campus number order)

CAMPUS RATING COMMENTS

001 MUMFORD H S Recognized
101 MUMFORD EL Recognized

Total Count = 2


17 posted on 08/13/2005 1:57:15 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: OKIEDOC; All

2005 DISTRICT ACCOUNTABILITY SUMMARY
District Name Links to the Accountability Data Table

DISTRICT NAME: HEARNE ISD
DISTRICT NUMBER: 198905
ACCOUNTABILITY RATING: Academically Acceptable
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUMMARY

ACCOUNTABILITY RATINGS

NUMBER
OF
CAMPUS RATING: SCHOOLS

EXEMPLARY 0
RECOGNIZED 0
ACADEMICALLY ACCEPTABLE 4
ACADEMICALLY UNACCEPTABLE 0
AEA: ACADEMICALLY ACCEPTABLE 0
AEA: ACADEMICALLY UNACCEPTABLE 0
NOT RATED: OTHER 0
___

TOTAL 4
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Campus Name Links to the Accountability Data Table

CAMPUS LIST (in campus number order)

CAMPUS RATING COMMENTS

002 HEARNE H S Academically Acceptable
042 HEARNE J H Academically Acceptable
102 EAST SIDE EL Academically Acceptable PAIRED WITH 103
103 BLACKSHEAR EL Academically Acceptable


18 posted on 08/13/2005 1:58:30 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
Does Judge Justice really think by denying these students the education of the better school their parents will re-enroll them in the failing and dangerous school? I think there will very shortly be an affordable private school in Hearne.
19 posted on 08/13/2005 2:12:46 AM PDT by Betty Jane
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To: All
For accountability: Texas Education Agency Click on "2005 Accountability: List by District" in top right list.

Once there choose "District by Region Number" and enter 06 and "continue"

There you will be able to pull down Mumford and Hearne.

At the bottom of each district recap, you can click on individual schools and get the racial break down and how they preform.

Interesting that when they choose to, they put an * to "protect student confidentiality." Check for yourself what they're really protecting.

20 posted on 08/13/2005 2:17:55 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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