In the News_07.03.2017DISTRICT25-6APREVIEW RECEIVERS
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By Thomas Jone$
[email protected].;.com
As the 2017 football sea.son approaches, the community news papers
take a look at what 10 expect from District 25-6A, posi tion by
position. The series con· tlnues by examining the teams' wide
recelvers. The community sports writer.; rank tJ1em from the
strongest (No. I) to the weak· est (No. 7), at least based on how
the unit looks in the preseason. Visit westlakepicayune.com for the
entire series.
t. Vlsta Rldge Returning quarterback Jacob
Taute will have some familiar targets to throw to, including
first-team, all-district Jami) Pitt· man~ a versatile playmaker who
will get touches In a varle1y of
ways. The 6-foo1, 185-pound Pitt• man had 602 yards receiving, 414
yards rushing and nine touch· downs last season and gives the
Rangers a big-play 1hreat. Pitt• man is hardly the Jone Ranger in
the passing game; Devin Walker also garnered varsity experience
during Vista Ridge's 3-8 season in 2016, and Coach Rodney Vin· cent
touted the development of receiver, sud! as Dylan Le-.ch and Nick
Podolak during the spring.
2. Lake Tra,is Out with the old stars, and in
with the newest receiving sen· sadon for the defending Class 6A
Division I state champions. Four receivers from the 2016 team will
soon be sutdng up for their respective college 1eams. but junior
Garrett Wilson looks primed to carry a heavy load. 111e6-t,
175-pom1dju11ior had SO receptions for 699 yards and 12 touchdowns
a year ago. and the
Football continued on A7
ABOUT THIS SERIES As footbilU season neJJ~ thecomnuut:Ynewspapers
ex.amine Dlstr let l 3-6A and rank each tum, poslUon bY position.
Wat!Klnassllln points for the top.ranked team•t .. ch position,
gMngseven points for the l)O!ltlon l@a<lal aM ont point
forseve<ith place. We,1 upc:t.a.ta the tot,;.I with each
Instalment or the se,ies, gMngantoeaofwtilctiteams wQI coot.end
fo,tho district uue .and the folK s:>lclYoff spots. Part one:
Offensive 1'1e Part two: RocaNan current point total 1. La ko
Tr.111ls, 11 1. Vim Rids•. 11 3.Hays,10 '-Westt.,ke, 8
4.Vandasrlfl.'8 6.Letlman,s 7. Leanc:IQr, 3
;_..;;----· Lake Ttavlswld• recerver Garrett wuson lnwannup pass
receMng <1r1Usdur1na Lake nav1scava.11eu football
spr1ngpract1ceat Lake Travl.$ High School on May 11.
JOHNGUTIUIR[li:ooAME~ICAN $1:0.11:SMAN
Football continued from A6
bevy or coU,:ge offers testi fies to his talents. The ca,,. Jack
proven depth beyond Wilson, however; stellar ath• lete Alec Fumtes
has played multiple positions during his career but now looks like
a starter, and Kyle Wakefield moves from defense to an H-back role
formerly occu• pied by curr,ent Longhorn Gade Brewer. Look
furderen stve back Nathan Parodi to also get snaps at
receiver.
, 3. Vandegrift • Justin Florence and Peyton
Ausley, IJ>e top lWO recei ... rs from last sea:son's 6-6 cam·
palgn, both re rum this sea• son. Thal e"-perience will help the
Vipers break in a new quarterback. Florence hauled in a team·high
46 catches for 667 yards and seven touch downs a year ago, and the
6-3 Ausley had 32 catches ror 400 yards. Neither player possesses
the speed to blow past saretles, bul both boast good hands and run
reliable root es. Run· nlng back Mack Parker also Splits out wjcle
, and tjght end Jackson Oliver is a threat in the passing
game.
4.Lehman His ability to develop a
potent passlngg:une helped new coach Josh Kirkland land the Lehman
job, and It could make the Lobos a darldiorse playoff contender.
Chastain Evans, a 6-foot, 165- pound senior, emerged as a downfield
l11reat last sea son with 280 yards receiv• lnganda nioaf
touchdowns. Classrnare Braden Sulilns , a second-team. aH-distric:t
pD)'eTa)""""ll"•shouldalso excel In Klrldand's version of the
spread; the mulil•spor1 standout - Sullins earned fust -team,
all-district hon ors as a shortstop o n the ooseball team -
already has an impressive highlight reel of his ca.tches and ha~
par• ticipated in USA football 's developmental camps.
S. Hays Plenty of pTO\,,en receivers
are among a veteran offense shat fearures elght returning
>t.uter.;. Nalhar1 Tote,a 6-~. 185-pow,djw,ior, impressed wish
16 catches and 251 yards asa sophomoH! and appeMS poised for
abreal<ootseason. Senior Patrldc Guerrero Is just 5°8 and 160
pounds, but he makes big plays out or U,e slot;he had21 catches
for344 yards la<lseason.}unlordght endJamison F.ddlen>an,
who
played on varsity last season, adds to the wea!U1 of re,;eiv• ing
riches for a team poised to rebound from last year's 3-7
campaign.
6. Westlake Graduation took a lieavy
toll on the Chaps' receiv• Ing corps, but coach Todd Dodge always
manufacrures a productive set of wideouls in his spread offense.
Look for6·foot•3, 190-poundJake Ramos to have a breakoul
season afte.r hauling In 29 catches for 4 97 yards and fh'e
touchdowns a year ago. The senior boasts tremen• dous size and
athleticism; be excels in the hurdlesdur· ing track se.ason.
However, Ramos Is the only receiver wilh any meaningful expe
rience, and Dodge will have to fill the ranks for a team that went
10-4 last season with20J6subllarsityplayers.
7. Leander 'Jbird.)"<lf ooodi TunSmith
prefers to lea:n on a rugged gro«od j/;iffie to conlrol lhe clock
and move lhe chains, but his offense also boasts one of tile top
weapons in tile district with three-year start· ing receiver Dalton
Flowers. The6-3, 185-poundsenlor has the speed Lo get down field
and can manhandle smaller defensive baclcs. A year 3//P, Flowers
had 52 catches for 880yordsona2-8squadthat came within one win of
the playoffs. Jake Egelsee, a 6·1, 185-pow,dseruoraro retums.
contact ThO!nds Jones at 512-445-3527.
Arstteam PITCHER Grant MIiter, uni or, Ro-und Rock A McLennan
Community Cdlege slgneewhoalso pl~d nrst t>a.se, MJIJerwas 10--2
W1t1l twono--httters and ttt .3 72 with 1 7 RBIs Jr, tho relll!lar
season. Colltn Wyman. s&nlor, Hendrlc-kson Tho District 13-6A
MVP led tho Hawks toa 6A reglonalflnalWltlla 10-2,ecord,
1.74ERAand76 strll<e<>utswhlle also hitting .360wltll 21
RBIs. Mason Mont&ome.ry,Junlor. Leander A dOmlnant
teft--Nnderwh o gave up four earned runs all season, Montgome,y had
80 strlkewtslnJust44¼ lnni11S5,str1kkl&out an average of 12
battllrs a same, CATCHER COdY Vannoy, Junior, RouH Tne District
19-SA MVP,VannoY helped tne Ral(lers reacn tne tntrd roundofttie
Class SA playoffs, hitting .379 with 20 RBIs. He also threw out 1 3
n.nners. l'IRSTBASE JordQn Week5,Junlor, Wimberley Ana11 .. state
oonoreeWtlowa.svotE!dMVP In Dlstrtct 27-4A, Weeks hit three honners
and drove In 36 runs tot the Ta>cans, Class 4A regIona1
CJJ,arterflnallsts. SECONDBASE Grant Prussel, senior, Vandea_rlft A
power-hitting lnflelderwhohasslgnedwlth Houston Baptist, Prusse.l
led me areawtth SIX h0merswn11e hitting .403.Ho S<:oro<l 30
runsan<I <lrovoln 23.
SHORTSTOP Alex.Deleon., untor, L.t..ao Vl1ta The All...centex
newcorneroftheyearln 2015, DeLeon helped the Vikings advance to
Class 3A 111glona1 finals In eachof tne past two seasons. THIRDBASE
Shelby Becker, Junior, Clddlnis Honored as tne otstrlct 25-4A MVP,
eectcer batted .4 1 Sand complied an Impressive .920 neldlng
percentage this spring. oumELDER James Baran. 1en1or.An<11r1on
AmultJsPortstarwhoalso1PklYeci football, Baran was named the 14·
6AMVPaftertltttlng .40Sanasconng 26 runs for thedlstrictchilfl1P.
Parker Tadlock, senior, Geore,etown AnaU-stateselectloo of the
TttSBCA who will p!.,y at A.ngelOState next sea.son, UdlOCkbatted
.36 7 With 17 RBIs.stole 21 bases and scored 3 2 runs. Devin
T\Jcke-r, senior, Rouse Tuckernotonl)lhlt.321 with 22 RBIs and 25
runs,but he was 7-2 onthemoundWlth8 I strikeouts.earning Distnct
19-SA pltcherof ygar accolades. UTILITY Brett Baty, 1ophomore, L~k•
Travl1 TMOISlllct 2S-6A MVP,Bal)lnlt.4 1 swtth 26 RBIs andflwhoma
runs.and Uleflrst basem;maJsowas 4-0on f"nOund to, the district
champ.
Secondteam PITCHER Maxine V,1.Jd.x.1ophomore, Hays
TheDlstrict2$-6AMVPwon 17gamesaodposteda 1.79 ERA.She batted .380
to help tne Rebels reach the playoffs. Emlb' Jo Gr~, senior, ~lore
nee AnaJ~state Pick who was the District 25-3A MVP.Gray flnlShed
10-4wlth 162 strll<eO<Jtsandbatted .465. Gracy crafts.
sophOmor•. era.in VotedtheMVPofDlstrlct 19-SA,Craftshad 15wlnsand
129 StrlkeOUtS.SheatsobatteCl .384 wlttl 27 RBIs. CATCHER Ashley
~r•z. senior, Ptluaervme Perez hit .418 with 13 doublosand 29 RBIs.
Bohlnd the ol.>to, she U\r'ew out seven wouJd .. De
oa.sestealers. FIRSTBASE Shelby Dl>con. sen lot, La Gra.nie
Dixon was named Ols.trict 20-4A offensive MVP aftor b.lWng .490wlth
sewnnomeruns and 3B RBIs. SECOND BASE cam me Corona.. sophomore,
Drip pin,: Sprints A UT plGdge, Corona-theAD-Cffltex newcomorof
theye-rln 2016- batt(!(j .445 and stole a seh00I¥recora 59
bases.
SHORTSTOP Aspen Howle, senior, Lake Travis Aft.er signing with
Houston.Howle, whO's iJlsoa basketball standout,batted.484,hlt 1
Ofl<lmersand dro.,efn 31 rt.llS.
THIRD BASE KIIHYLOWkl, Hnlor,Hyd1 P.ark A NlchollS State slgnee,
Lowke batted better than .600 and scored moretnan so l\llS ths past
season. OUTFIELDER Brianna Clmpos1 sen1or1 eartl•tt A first-team
al-district honoroe,Camposbatted .548 for tho L.ass~s. Who averaged
17 runsdl.l1ng the plaiY<>fl'. Shelby Schwartz. senior. Laao
Vl5ta Across.oountry rtn'WH'Wno also plays b.1Sketbal, scnwartz
battod .526, had 44 runs and 23 stoals. Miranda Swanbere, senior,
Cedar Rlde,e Tho RoldOfs center flotderhlt.407 with 41 runs and 28
RBIs this past se.1son. sne aisooommltted JUstone error. i'hl!l,it
I Jullana Brown, senior, We,stJake
Acatcherwho'salsocomfortabl8asanlnft81d8r,Brownbatted .455,h.ad 26
RB1sa.ncsst.o1e 19baSesin 2oanempts.
District 25-6A MVP: Maxine Valdez, Hays. Offensive MVP: Juliana
Bro.vn, Westlake. Defenstve MVP: Kristian Chapa, Vista Ridge.
Pitcher MVP: Jessica Day, Lake Travis. Newcomer of the year: Chloe
Smith, Vista Ridge. Coach of the year: Lisa Cone.Hays. Flrstteam:
LuLuArrQto, sr., Hays; MarlaArrQto, sr., Hays; Eltzabeth Banle,
sr., Lake TravJs; Abbie Blackwell.Jr., Hays; Brycen Bllnco, sr.,
Lake Travis; Shorty CastJllo, sr., Leander; lllyana Cisneros.Jr.,
Hays; Maddey Collins, sr., Vista Ridge; Dominique Faz,Jr.,
Westlake; Daryn Haslam,Jr., Vista Ridge; Aspen Ho.vie, sr., Lake
Travls; Alyssa MartJnez, sr., Lehman; Nicole Nlckdow, sr., Vista
Ridge; Brianna Rodriguez, soph., Hays; Shelby Thornton.Jr.,
Westlake. Second team: SerynaAvalos, soph., Lehman; Brooke
Baumgartner, Jr.,Leander; Maya Benologa,Jr., Vista Ridge; Brooke
Cimino, fr., Westlake; Allie Dall le, sr., Lake Travis; Kaylln
Davis, soph., Hays; Haley Henderson, soph., Leander; Emily
Kahler.Jr., Lake Travis; Melayna Lopez, soph., Vista Ridge;
Courtney Plckus, fr., Vandegrift; LIiiy Rodgers, sr., Westlake;
Sarah Salinas, sr., Westlake; Kaylee Wlpff,Jr., Lehman; Sydney
Wunsch, soph., Vandegrift.
NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL COACHES ASSOCIATION
Lake Travis grad l(aitlynn Papp named one of 20 top athletes in
nation She wins award in girls golf after helping Cavs to 3rd
consecutive title.
IIYThom.llJOnH t~es@a-pe,s.com
Kaftlynn Papp, a recent grad• uate of Lake Travis High School, was
named as ooeof the"JJ)senior athletes of the year in boys and girls
sports by the National High School Com:hesAsoooalion. P-•PI> won
the award in girls golf after winning individual honors while
helping the Cavs lo a third COIi· secutive Class 6A state champi·
onshlp.
Papp, who wlll attend Texas in the fall, is a four-time Rolexjunior
All-Amerlcan, earning first team honors in 2015 and 2016.
Papp was named to USA Today's Second-Team All-Amer ican Cirls'
Coif team in 2016. She was selected to represent the USA a year ago
and aided Team USA to winning theJunlor RyderCUp. She also
represented the USA"' the ToyotaJunior Golf World cup In
Toyota,shl, Japan.
Papp is the second Texas stu• dent-athlete to win the NHSCA Girls'
Coif athlete of the year aw-• rd. Maddie Sze ryk or Allen High
School won the award in 2014.
It's the 18th s.traight year the NHSCA has honored achievers In the
high school athletic com• munity nationwide. Th.is year's
recipients, selected in a total of 20 boys and girts sports, are
from 17 dUferent states. California. Mas, sachusetts and New Jersey
top
Papp oontlnued on A7
the 11st wlrh rwo athletes e.ach being honored Arizroa, Colorado,
F1orida, Indiana, Kentucky. Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Ohio.
Tennessee, 1'exas, Utah. Virginia and Washington each had one
athlete honored.
"'11le 20 young men and women we are honoring today represent the
thou. sands of success stories pn:>, duced in high school ath·
Jerks, .. NHSCA executive director Eric Hess said in a press
release ... They have worked extremely hard to develop and hone In
on their skills and have become not just great student-athletes,
but outst.andlng role mod .. els on and olf the field, and we are
delighted to be hon oring them."
Each oneofthe honorees will rec.eive a trophy, plus each will be
honored In the National High School Sports Hall of Fame Museum,
"'ruch the NHSCA will be building In the near future.
Cont.act TtiomasJonesat 512-4',S-3527.
LONESTARCUP
No Cup winners from area Liberty Hill places highest of Central
Texas schools: 3rd.
Amedc~Statesmanstaff
The Lone StarCUpawards
points to schools based on their overall team achieve• ment In
academic, ath)e:cic and music competitions. It began during Jbe
1997·98 school }'ear.
Westlake, the 2015-16 will• ner of the Class 6A cup, 6n• !shed
rourth this year will, 88 poinlS while Loke Travis, which won state
champion ships in rOOlball and girls golf, came In ninth w1th 63
polnis. Hendrickson, which won the girls soccer state Utle, was
10th with 60 points.
The Woodlands won lis sixth cup, tied for third-most of all time.
The Highland ers won state titles in boys cros.~ country, girls
6Wlm• ming and diving, and boys track and field . The Wood lands
last won the Lone Star Cup in 20ll.
Dripping Spring;,, which reached rhe Class SA stare softball
tournament, tied for sixth In the Class SA Lone Siar CUp with
Amarillo. Both schools had 67 points. Hig11- land Park won its 10th
Lone
Star cup tldewlth 106 polnrs. Highland Park's last Cup win came In
2008.
Liberty Hill, a state quali· fier In softball and girls bas
ketball, had the highest fin. lsh or any area school: third in
Class 4A with 78 points. Argyle won the classifica tion with 128
polnlS.
Wimberley finished 10th in Class 4A with SI points.
Austin High was 14th In Class SA with 57 points and Bowie 6nished
l2U1 In Class 6A with 58 points.
SCHOOL DISTRICT
ByThomuJone,o t)oollS@aC111.,,.s;pal)Cfs.com
Lake Travis I llgh School assls· tm~ IM'lndp<ol Michael
Drlnkwa1cr
has been named the Lake Travis ochool dlslrlcl'I ru<sl>1ant
director or athledcs dfoc• ctveJuly3, dlstrtct ,,mc1:1is
r<.ictndy onnouaood.
Mlch111 Orlnkwater Drinkwater rcplnces Br:mdy
Bolk, who last month accepted
n poslllon with the Unlvc.rslly IJ1terocholasdc Le.!!luu.
In his new po<5IU00, Drlnkwa- 1er will work wllh athleclc dlrec-
1or and take Travis High School l""'d loolball oouch Hank
Carter.
"Michael's experience ns n clas.. .. room teacher and cm1ch
~ wJll~tdkeJbe..r.iithLb:tlnnctt.antL
set the appropriate tone for the continued growth of our ath• letic
programs,,. Carter said in a press release. •Brandy will be a hard
act to follow, but I tn1ly believe Michael is the best fit for this
important role.•
A native ofcallfomla, Drinkwa ter earned both bachelor's and
master's degrees from Adams State College in Alamosa, Colo. He
holds a teaching certificate In secondary llngl:lsh from Adams
State and a prtncipal's certifi· care from Lamar University In
Beaumonl.
Drinkwater joined Lake Tra· vis High In 2012, serving as an English
teocher. freshmen foot ball head coach, and softball and varsity
football .assistant coach.
COnt.act Thomas.Jonesat512- 445-3527.
LAKE TRAVIS SCHOOLS
District puts $253M bond issue to build schools on Nov. 7 ballot In
addition to new middle and elementary schools, tech and sports get
boost
IIY RllChtl RICe
[email protected]
Voters in the Lake Travis school dis· n1ct will decide Nov. 7
lfthey will sup• port a $2S3 million bond proposal, which lndudes
funding for a seventh elementary school and a third middle school.
School district officials say the bond will not increase property
tax rates, a consequence of the dtsrrlcr paying down its
debt.
Middle school No. 3 near Vall DMde is projected to oost roughly
$77.6 mil· lion and elementary No. 7 Is antici pated to cost
approximately $31.S mil•
lion, aooordlng to the district's projec tions. Other major items
rolled into the bond Include facll lty Improvements estimatedat$96
million, new technol• ogy a1 the campuses at a coot of about $39,S
million and athletic facilities at $23 million.
Most of the items were adopted from the bond advisory committee,
whose members made a presentadon ro the school board last month.
Disn1ct senior administrator Johnmy HIii added, how• ever, that the
di.strict tacked o.n $1.3 million for new sear belts on all its
school buses.
"'In addition, we now have Senate Bill 693, which is a seat belt
Jaw,• Hill said. " If you're financially able todoso, you're
acnially required to put three· point seat belt<on your buses
for new ones purchased after Sept. I, 2017. We
went through U1e worksheet to fi'-'llre out bow much it would be to
not only add 11 for rite new buses ... bu1 also 10 go back and
retrofit the buses we have ,vlth seat belts, and we came up r.o
right at $1.3 million,·
Dlslrlcl staff a lso made a presenta tion on a possible rax
ratification elec• tion, which would be in November lf the school
board approves the elec• tion during its August meeting, The tax
ratification elccdon would ask voters whether the district should
be able to move 2 cents from its interest and sink• ing tax rate,
used lo pay off debts, over to its maintenance and operations rax
rate. District administrators empha· sized rhar taxpayers would nor
see a change in their overa11 tax rate.
Cont>ct Rachel Rice at 512-1,1,5-3809.
LEGISLATURE IN-DEPTH SCHOOL FUNDING
The U k• Tr.1vl1, L•ao Vista., J.lrrell •nd Blant-o school dlstrlch
are amona about 200 Te.x.i1.s Khool dlstrtcts t hat wn1 101@ a
eomblned s200 m1111on In sta't:e tundln& from the Addlt lonal
state Aid for ntx Reduction proar.im. a pot of money th.it wlll ao
.i!W~ In September. RALPMBMIRCRAJ m stfCAH.-SlAffiMAN
End of state progra1n hits school budgets Some Central Texas
districts scramble to cover shortfalls
ey Julie Chana JchanS~ta.tesmancom
About 200 Texas school dis· tricts - including Lake Travis, Lago
Vista, Jarrell and Blanco - will enter the 2017•18 school year
without a combined S200 million In state money that they had been
receiving during the past decade.
A pot of money called Addi tio11al StneAld forT-dJC Reduction will
go away in September, cutting up to 10 percent of some Central
Texas school district budgets.
The LegJslature established the money in 2005 to maintain school
district revenue after law makerslo<\<eredpropenytax
rates
- the main source of funding for Texas school districts - by one
third. In 2011, rhe Legislature reduced the amount of state aid to
school districts and set a 2017 expiration date.
In recent years, rising property values have allowed fewer school
dlstrlct.s to qualify for the money. But in many of the remaining20
percent of school districts, offi cials are cutting teachers and
extr3curricular .act.MUes, free-u Ing salaries, delaying repairs
and dipping into savings to prepare for the loss of funding.
"The reality Is that ASATR existed because of a promise made to
taxpayers that compressed tax rates would not hurt school
districts. That promise has been broken," said Suzy Lofton-Bullis,
deputy superintendent of the Lago Vista school district. which Is
expecting to lose $1.2 million, about IO percent of the 1,450-stu·
dent district's budget.
Should funding expire? Lawmakers, warning that the
1oos In the state aid program cook! close schools, filed a
half-dozen bills 10 extend the program in the session that ended in
May.
The moot proruisingw-dSHouse Bill 21, a $1.6 billion school finance
package that would have created hardship grants for affected
dis-
SChOOlsoont1nued onA8
Schools contlr1<JOO ~om Al
tricts. Disagreement over a separate provision that would have
allowed .state money to help students pay for private school
ruillon uld mately killed the legjslation.
ln an opinion pie<.-e about educ.ation spending]XJblished this
month, U. Gov. Dan Pat rick suggested that districts should have
been planning for the Joss of fundlng.
·school districts have known for sh years thar ASATR would expire
in20l7," Patrick wrote.
Chandra Villanueva, pol Icy analyst with rhe Center for Public
Policy Priorities, a left-leaning Austin think tank, said the
funding pro gram should expire because it's based on
decade-<>ld rev enue data, maJ<inglt an inef ficient
system within the larger, already b£oken state finance
system.
"Basically, ,discrlcls wllh higher tax rates were subsi· diting the
ASATR for Olher districts,,. Villanueva said. "What our
Legisla1ure1ieeds to focus on is all 5.3 million kids and not just
a handful of districts that were In a privileged position a decade
ago, and rha~,s why they're onASA.TR.n
Planning for the cliff Officials 1'1th the Lake Tra·
vis, Lago Vista, Jarrell and Blanco districts said they have
exhausted ways to plan forthe loss In stale aid, add-
Ing that cuts to the overall education system continue to be too
burdensome.
The Lago V-osta and Lake Travis school districts face a double
whammy because they must also return mil· lions of dollars to the
state in recapture payments that help property-poor school
dislticts. Laj,'O Vista officials expect the district ro send off
as much as $5 million next school year, while Lake Tra· vis will
return to the state about $43 ml1llon and Jose an additional
half-million dollars when the state aid expires in September.
Lake 'Travis, which has a $113 million budget, is going Into a
deficit of$2I million next school year_, forcing it ro dip lnro
savings.
-.;we;~-~t ~~'k'on some or our a-anspoo-taUOn. We've also
outsourced our custo dial staff. We .. ve not filled staff
positions. What has hurt us is Lhe other cuts that the state has
put on us, and unfunded mandates,· said Johnny Hill, Lake Tra· vis
school dlstrlcrs chief financial officer.
The Jarrell school dis trict \\10 lose· about 7 per• cent of its
$14 million bud ge, when the additional state aid expires, also
creating a budget deficit. Official< said they've cut staff and
can't afford to Increase salaries - a top priority for districts at
risk ofloslng teachers to neighboring districts or to other
careers_
The Blanco school district w111 also lose up to 7 percent
or Its budget when the aid program exp'ires.
Blanco district ofTlcials have tried to lessen the blow by asking
voters ear lier this moo th to approve a "tax. swap" that will
gener· ate more money for the dis O-lcl's operating budget but
keep the taxpayers' overall tax bill the same. Themaueu ver will
allow the district to use tax money reserved for repaying debt to
instead pay teacher s-aJaries, utility bills and other day-to-day
expenses.
The Lake Travis and Lago Vista school districts have also done a
tax swap.
--we have oot been plan· nlng with the e.xpectation that
theLegjslaturewasi,>iq( to help us,· said Matthew Strager, the
Blanco school dlslrtcl's business man~.
For the 3CHl.ay special leg islative session that begins July 18,
Gov. Greg Abbott has called on the Legislature to create a
commission to make reoomn,endationsabout the
state'sschoolfinancesysrem. Local school officialsaren'1 banking on
any meaningful changes to come from tire special session.
"We b!ep doing studies ... but nothing ever gers done with school
fumding because It's going to require some~ thing very big,• said
JarreU Superintendent BUI Chap man. "There~s no getting around
It."
coniactJuneO'lang at512-912-2565. Twltter:@Jullect,ang1
Cavs, Rangers top receiver units 1
Cavs, Rangers top receiver units 2
Cavs, Rangers top receiver units 3
Cavs, Rangers top receiver units 4
Cavs, Rangers top receiver units 5
All-Central Texas Team
2017 All-Central Texas Second Team
Area All-District Honorees
Area All-District Honorees
Area All-District Honorees 2
Area All-District Honorees 3
Lake Travis grad Kaitlynn Papp named one of 20 top athletes in
nation
Lake Travis grad Kaitlynn Papp named one of 20 top athletes in
nation 1
Lake Travis grad Kaitlynn Papp named one of 20 top athletes in
nation 2
No Cup winners from area
Assistant athletic director is named
Assistant athletic director is named 1
Assistant athletic director is named 2
District puts $253M bond issue to build schools on Nov 7
ballot
End of state program hits school budgets
End of state program hits school budgets 1
End of state program hits school budgets 2
End of state program hits school budgets 3
End of state program hits school budgets 4
End of state program hits school budgets 5
End of state program hits school budgets 6
End of state program hits school budgets 7
End of state program hits school budgets 8