Arlington, TX

When the city raised storm water fees by a phenomenal amount this past summer, Arlington school superintendent Mac Bernd called the increase “unconscionable” and refused to pay. The city threatened to turn off water to the schools and the district was considering a lawsuit.

The city caved and at last night’s City Council meeting, voted to exempt all local school districts from paying the fees. City leaders say they hope this will help to reopen communication with the school district so they can concentrate on more important issues,  such as gang violence.

The fee increase, which was implemented on October 1, would have cost the school district an estimated $110,000 more this year. The AISD had been paying about $6,000 a month. Since the increase, the school district has withheld the storm-water fee payment, setting the money aside in an escrow account, and has paid the rest of their water bill. 

Other items approved at the City Council meeting included:

• Spend $1.6 million to dredge the west pond north of Randol Mill Road by the Ballpark and part of the channel south of Randol Mill that leads to the pond.
• Spend $200,000 to update zoning regulations.
• Begin bidding on gas leases on 274 acres of city-owned land, including Rush Creek Linear Park and Veterans Park.
• Spend $153,000 to maintain medians and rights of way in the entertainment district and $113,000 for grounds maintenance, such as mowing, on city-owned land.
• Create a tax increment financing district around the Viridian project planned for far north Arlington.

Source

Hector Montenegro, currently superintendent of the Ysleta school district in El Paso, has been named the finalist for the new AISD superintendent. He will succeed the current superintendent, Mac Bernd, who announced his resignation earlier this year.

Montenegro has been superintendent of the Ysleta school district since 2003. The district, which has about 46,000 students, is in the eastern part of El Paso. He is credited with making improvements to the district. He has also been an administrator in Dallas, Austin and San Marcos and in Washington, D.C., and Virginia.

Texas mandates a 21-day period between the naming of a finalist and his or her hiring. The period is used for trustees to conduct background checks and visit the finalist’s home district before making the final hiring decision.

Trustees are scheduled to visit the Ysleta school district on November 26. If everything checks out, Montenegro will be offered a contract on November 29.

Source and Photo: Fort Worth Star-Telegram

A woman and her two children were found dead inside their east Fort Worth home this afternoon, and police were in a standoff for hours with the suspect before he suddenly took off and drove his car through Arlington, down a boat ramp and into Lake Arlington.

The car sank and was completely submerged as of 7:45 p.m., and the man was believed to still be inside. Authorities are at the scene now. According to Fox 4, Police believe the suspect may have shot himself in the head as he went into the water. (more…)

Morton Elementary School is celebrating their 30th anniversary this school year. (How can that be? I went to that school the year they opened - 2nd grade. Surely that wasn’t 30 years ago! Alas, I guess it was.)

To celebrate, they are hosting a reception for former students, teachers and parents on October 25th from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. I know several of the students and parents from my class have already been contacted and are planning to be there. I have it on good authority that some of the original teachers will be there as well.

It should be very interesting to see all of my former classmates, some of whom I probably haven’t seen since 6th grade. If you are a Morton alum, make plans to attend and celebrate our school!

Arlington, Arlington TX, Morton Elementary, 30th anniversary, reception

For the first time in more than 10 years, all Texas schools are going back to school on the same day. In recent years, the start date was August 21, but many districts received waivers to start as early as the first week in August. That all changes this year because of new state legislation that passed in 2006. The new law makes August 27 the earliest that any district can start and waivers are no longer being issued. The good news for most students is that they got an extra 2 weeks of summer vacation. The bad news is they probably won’t get out of school until early June, as most districts have made up for the late start by adding a week or two at the end of the year. 

Also new this year: (more…)

More than 300 people attended a town hall meeting about gas well drilling in Arlington last night. Many support the drilling but want to see better safety precautions taken. Proposed changes to the city’s gas well ordinance include, increasing to 600 feet from 300 feet the setback requirement, requiring a “closed loop” system to reduce the pad area and use bins to collect drilling waste instead of open pits, requiring an upfront fee when drilling companies pay for their permits and applications to cover damage to roads, requiring drillers to use devices to mitigate noise. The City Council will be discussing these changes at their next few meetings.

AISD Superintendent Mac Byrne has made the decision to remove the wood fiber mulch from 35 school playgrounds after a spontaneous combustion fire at Beth Anderson Elementary last Thursday. Fire officials say the fire started after rain soaked mulch began to decompose and produce heat, much like a compost pile can do. The extreme temperatures helped the material to ignite causing the fire which melted the playground equipment. Byrne said the mulch will be removed from the 20 affected schools and replaced with pea gravel. The playgrounds will be closed, and signs posted, until the change takes place.

Arlington, Arlington TX, Gas Well Drilling, Town Hall Meeting, Gas Well Requirements, Spontaneous Combustion fire, School Playground, Beth AndersonElementary, Mac Byrne

Southbound lanes of North Collins Street from Sanford to Rogers streets will be closed beginning Friday until August 20 for the replacement of sewer lines. Alternate routes are Center Street and Cooper Street.

Fire destroyed two apartments in a complex in the 2400 block of Windswept Way on Wednesday afternoon. Another fire destroyed a house in the 1800 block of Jubilee Trail about 2 p.m. No one was injured in either fire. Officials blame kids playing with a cigarette lighter for the apartment fire and a carelessly discarded cigarette for the house fire.

Two homes were damaged by lightning strikes during Wednesday’s rainstorms. Firefighters report that a tree caught fire in the 2600 block of Winding Oaks Drive after it was struck by lightning around 4 p.m. The fire then burned some shingles on the house’s roof. The chimney of another house was struck about 4:30 p.m., resulting in minor damage.

One of Arlington’s oldest private schools is closing it’s doors. St. Alban’s Episcopal School is closing because of financial problems, according to a spokesman for the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. It was unclear if parents would receive a refund of tuition that had been paid for the upcoming school year. School was scheduled to start August 21.

The Arlington, Kennedale and Mansfield districts had no schools rated unacceptable when the Texas Education Agency released its annual ratings Wednesday. Seven Arlington schools and three Mansfield schools saw their ratings drop. Six Arlington schools and five Mansfield schools improved their ratings. Kennedale schools had no changes.

Arlington, Arlington TX, North Collins Street Closed, Sewer Repairs, Apartment Fire, Windswept Way, House Fire, Jubilee Trail, Lighting Strikes, St. Albans Episcopal School Closing, AISD, Mansfield, MISD, Kennedale, KISD, School Ratings

The Rangers need to fill seats and the school districts need to get students registered so they are teaming up to encourage both. Participating districts include Arlington, Dallas and Garland.

The Rangers will provide free tickets for students and their families to the Aug. 23 game against the Seattle Mariners if they enroll early through a designated testing and orientation center.

Students in Arlington may enroll and receive their tickets at the Language Placement Center located behind Workman Junior High School, 701 E. Arbrook Blvd., from 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. beginning Aug. 6. The school’s phone number is 682-867-7430.

For more information visit the Texas Rangers website.

Arlington, Arlington TX, Texas Rangers, Free Tickets, Seattle Mariners, Students, AISD, Dallas, Garland

(more…)

The Arlington ISD and businesses like the General Motors Assembly Plant are worried about the storm water fee hike the City Council approved last week.   The Council voted to raise residential fees a little over $3.00 per month, but that’s nothing compared to what commercial customers would pay.  The AISD would go from paying about $6,000 per month to over $31,000, an amount that Superintendent Mac Bernd calls “unconscionable.”

Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks has purchased the Stonegate Pines mobile home park south of the Ballpark.  The site was originally slated to be purchased for the Cowboys stadium project, but the city decided not to purchase it due to escalating costs for the development.  Many residents have moved, but some remain.  Their future is unclear at this point.

Mansfield will join other local communities in putting photos and information on registered sex offenders online but the City Council rejected a proposal to place stricter limits on where they can live.  They decided that the state laws are sufficient and no further restrictions would be necessary.

A man was killed in Grand Prairie yesterday when a Chevy Blazer ran a red light and struck his vehicle at West Main and NW 6th Street.  The Blazer was being pursued by police just prior to the accident, but police had called off the chase due to public safety concerns.  The driver and his passenger were both apprehended.

Arlington, Arlington TX, Storm Water Fees, AISD, General Motors, Texas Rangers, Tom Hicks, Stonegate Pines, Mansfield, Sex Offenders, Grand Prairie, Accident, Police Chase