In an article in last week's Chronicle/News it was reported that Myra Green Middle School was ranked by the Texas Education Agency as “Academically Unacceptable.”

This is incorrect. Myra Green Middle School showed improvement during the past year and is now ranked "Academically Acceptable."

2010 TEA Accountability Ratings

Raymondville Independent School District "Academically Unacceptable".

Raymondville High School - "Academically Unacceptable"

Myra Green Middle School "Academically Acceptable" Pittman Elementary "Exemplary"

L.C. Smith Elementary "Recognized"

So while Raymondville High School slipped from “Academically Acceptable” to “Academically Unacceptable” Myra Green Middle School moved from "Academically Unacceptable" to "Academically Acceptable."

Meanwhile Pittman Elementary continued to be "Exemplary" and L.C. Smith improved to "Recognized".

Both Raymondville High School and the Raymondville ISD are ranked "Academically Unacceptable" this year due to the 25.7% dropout rate for the Class of 2009.

The students and teachers at Pittman Elementary, and L.C. Smith Elementary deserve to be commended for thier good showing and performance and credit should also be given for the improvements made by Myra Green Middle School students and teachers.

Hopefully, next year, the high school and the entire RISD will be once again be "Academical1y Acceptable" or better, in the TEA ratings.

The editor

City manager Eleazar "Yogi" Garcia told city commissioners Tuesday evening that he hopes to shave $100,000 off last year's budget to cancel out an anticipated $90,000 less in sales tax revenue.

To do this, Garcia has no raises for city workers penciled into his preliminary city budget and he doesn't expect to buy any new equipment or vehicles.

Garcia said that the total value of taxable property has increased from $142 million to $144 million this year thus it make take a slightly lower tax rate to raise the same amount of money as last year's budget.

"We are trying to eliminate all part-time jobs by transfering those workers into vacant fulltime positions and then not replacing them," Garcia said.

Along those lines commissioners voted to replace fulltime wastewater employee Disidoro A. Cavazos who resigned recently with part timer Xavier Garcia who will become a full-time worker.

And part-time street dept. worker Jesus Gallardo will fill the new full-time maintenance job at the Rural Techology Building at UTB/TSC Learning Center on FM3168.

Commissioners also voted to spend up to $87,000 in grant funds to contract for consulting services at the University of Texas at Brownsville & Texas Southmost College. The specialists will be paid by the city and will work in business development at the incubators in the Rural Tech Center.

Discussed was the possiblity of establishing new business permit fees for construction but no action was taken.

Commissioners voted to charge $10 an hour as the rental fee at the Community Room next to the police station, only for those renters who charge fees for their events.

No date was set for an end of Summer Pool Party at the city swimming pool which closes for the year on Aug. 20.

Police officers Abel Garcia and Sergio Rudulfo will attend Canine training classes on South Padre Island to become certified , at a cost of $200.00.

Andy Chavez will attend F1ood Plain Management training in Houston on August 25, at no cost to the city. He will learn how to go after grant funds now available. Chavez is also certified to do FEMA inspections.

Public Works Director Joel Soto will attend training in Harlingen with one other employee.

Dede Chavez will attend Texas Municipal Retirement training in Austin, Sept. 26 - 28.

Olga Fadely will attend Tax Training in Corpus Christi August 8-12.

Finally city commissioners will attend The Texas Municipal League meeting in Corpus Christi Oct. 27-29.

City manager Garcia reported Oct. 2009 to July, 2010 total tax collections of $831,000 or 81 percent of the tax levy.

Chief of Police Uvaldo Zamora reported that Workforce workers have been painting the police station.

"Good,that means it will last another 10 years," quipped Commissioner Smith about the aging police building.

Public Works director Soto reported that it cost $10,500 and took seven yards of concrete to repair a cave in of an abandoned sewer line at 10th and Hidalgo Ave. last weekend.

"The hole was 12 feet deep," he said.

Soto also reported that the city wastewater plant is almost back to normal, following three weeks of drainoff from heavy rains that had manholes bubbling and the city treating four million gallons of wastewater daily in a plant built to treat one million gallons.

Now, if local residents and prisoners at the jails would stop flushing plastics, diapers and rags, Soto's job would be easier.

"They stop up the motors at the sewer plant," he said.