PJC Continues Offering Quality Education While Saving Students Money
A report from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) shows that Paris Junior College continues delivering an excellent education at great savings to students, the PJC Board of Regents heard Wednesday evening.
According to the IPEDS report, PJC’s annual tuition and fees is $1,428 compared to the peer group average of $2,136. The net price of attendance (tuition, fees, books, supplies, and room and board) compares favorably at $6,508 to $7,334.
PJC has more students on some form of financial aid than peers, 84 to 66 percent, and more students receiving PELL grants at 74 to 48 percent. PJC’s graduation rate is higher and the transfer-out rate meets the average. Average faculty salaries are higher but full-time equivalent staffing is lower.
PJC is far more dependent than its peers on state appropriations. While other colleges receive 19 percent of their budget from local tax dollars, PJC only receives 8 percent, making the college more vulnerable to cuts. PJC also spends less per full FTE than peers nearly all core expense categories. IPEDS collects data from about 7,500 institutions, and then generates comparisons. PJC is grouped with 22 other Texas community colleges of medium size.
In other business, the Regents:
• Approved a three-year contract extension for an electric utility rate of $0.04692 per kilowatt hour. The current rate is $0.05898.
• Approved the Investment Policy CAK (Local). The Public Funds Investment Act requires the Board of Regents approve this each year.
• Accepted the Authorized Brokers/Dealers for Investment, which lists organizations PJC is approved to invest funds with.
• Received a preliminary enrollment report with a head count of 4,942 students. That number is slightly above last spring’s head count. Ed McCraw, dean of math and sciences, said adjustments to non-major science classes and developmental education courses had affected enrollment. Enrollment in PJC’s Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology has shown improvement.
• Approved seeking taxes owed in the amount of $8,456.27 from Paris Warehouse 107 for not meeting the terms of their tax abatement agreement from 2007.
• Accepted the employment of Dr. Phil Williams, as Director of Sulphur Springs Center, effective Feb. 9: Gloria Hokett as Instructor of Cosmetology effective Jan. 12, and Nellie Hill as Director of Educational Opportunity Center, effective Jan. 20.
• Also the promotions/reassignments of Amanda Brannan as Staff Accountant, Kerrie Morris as Instructor of Cosmetology, and Jaci Shovan as Educational Talent Search High School Advisor; and the resignation of Educational Talent Search High School Advisor Jill Froneberger.
Aerial Pictures of the New Jail Site, January 5th, 2015
Our thanks to Beth Wisenbaker for sharing the photos with us.
Pioneer Cafe’s “A Little Taste of Romance Candlelight Dinner”
Home on Moore Street Damaged by Fire Friday Night
Fire heavily damaged the attic and dining room of a house at 207 South Moore in Sulphur Springs just after midnight Friday morning. The fire, probably accidental, may have been caused by a wood-burning stove.
Hopkins County United Way Exceeds Goal Will Distribute the Excess
Thursday will be a big day for the Hopkins County United Way. Since they went over their $160,000 goal, they will distribute excess allocation checks to 17 organizations they supported last year at the AgriLife Extension Office at 2 p.m.
Hopkins County Commissioners Court’s Holds Jail Construction Meeting
The Hopkins County Commissioners Court’s weekly visit with their construction manager-at-risk for the new county jail project will take place earlier this Wednesday. The meeting in the Sedalco Meeting Facility at 201 Houston will take place at 11 a.m.The meetings are open to the public.
Kids Trout Fishing Day is Scheduled for Saturday
The annual Kids Trout Fishing Day is scheduled for Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Peavine Pinion Pond. The free event also features soft drinks and hotdogs as well as door prizes.
Sarah Weatheread Named Homecoming Queen at North Hopkins
Friday night at the North Hopkins gym Sarah Weatheread was named Homecoming Queen.
Lawmakers Want to Expand Worker Screening
by Julián Aguilar, The Texas Tribune – January 31, 2015
One of former Gov. Rick Perry’s last efforts to address border security and immigration doesn’t go far enough for some lawmakers who returned to Austin earlier this month.
Just weeks before finishing his term, Perry issued an executive order requiring state agencies under his direction to start checking whether job applicants can legally work in the country using the federal E-Verify system. Perry’s order also applied to companies that have, or are seeking, contracts with the state.
But despite the directive, which is “in effect and in full force until modified, amended, rescinded or superseded by me or by a succeeding governor,” some lawmakers want to expand the scope of agencies that have to use the system, which is run by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
State Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood, filed House Bill 630, which would require local governments, special districts and agencies not under the governor’s direction to also use E-Verify.
“The governor’s order can only go as far as an executive order can go, and that’s perfectly fine, but this just expands it to other entities as well,” said Justin Till, Bonnen’s legislative director.
Perry issued his order after President Obama’s executive action granting millions of undocumented immigrants a temporary reprieve from deportation proceedings and a work permit. And it marked a change of heart for the former governor, who just a few years earlier said the E-Verify system was flawed and not the right fit for Texas.
“The E-Verify system has been improved, it’s been streamlined and is currently the most accurate and efficient way to check a person’s legal work [status] in the United States,” Perry said in December when he explained his mandate
Even with that endorsement, whether the state’s new leadership is on board to expand E-Verify’s scope is another question.
Asked about expanding Perry’s order, Gov. Greg Abbott’s office referred to his campaign literature. In his “Securing Texans” plan, Abbott endorsed mandating E-Verify compliance for state agencies.
“Doing so will impose no burdens on the private market but will place appropriate checks on the hiring of persons not lawfully present in the United States by public institutions,” Abbott’s literature said.
But that appears to be as far as the new governor is ready to go.
“To be very clear, this recommendation would NOT apply to any other political subdivision, including institutions of higher education, cities, counties, special purpose districts or public schools or public charter schools. This recommendation does not apply to any private sector employer,” Abbott added.
Abbott’s office said it wants to engage lawmakers on the issue, specifically on how to enforce the mandate.
“Gov. Abbott will work with the Legislature to determine how best to implement his plan and ensure compliance by the agencies,” an aide said in an email.
He’s not the only one that wouldn’t mind more input from House and Senate members.
Before Perry issued his order, state Rep. James White, R-Woodville, filed legislation that would have made state agencies use E-Verify. He said that as far as he was concerned, Perry’s mandate meant “mission accomplished.”
But he added that his bill could still serve to open up a dialogue with Abbott.
Other lawmakers want to make sure employers won’t get penalized if they use E-Verify and an unauthorized worker slips through the cracks.
State Rep. Tony Dale, R-Cedar Park, filed HB 889, which adds protections for employers should USCIS make a mistake. It would only apply to new hires and not current employees.
“As a matter of fairness, it is critical to protect contractors from mistakes that may occur,” Dale said in a statement. “The bottom line is that if a contractor is using E-Verify and inadvertently hires an illegal worker based upon a returned verified status by the federal government, they will not lose their contract.”
Opponents of E-Verify — including the business community, which argues that the system is still flawed, and immigrants rights groups that say it’s discriminatory — won’t have the threat of litigation to thwart lawmakers.
In June 2011, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that states have the right to enact laws requiring employers, including those in the private sector, to use the employment verification system.
In that case, Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. Whiting, the court ruled 5-3 that the federal government’s Immigration Reform and Control Act did not pre-empt an Arizona law called the Legal Arizona Workers Act, which passed in 2007.
The law allows the Arizona government to revoke the business licenses of employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, and mandates the use of E-Verify.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2015/01/31/some-lawmakers-say-e-verify-order-doesnt-do-enough/.
Michael D. Shortt is our Newest Orthopaedic Physician Assistant
Dr. Michael Shortt is an Orthopaedic PA or Physician Assistant at Memorial Clinic. He works with Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. Richard Graves. Both come from military backgrounds and they have worked together previously at army bases in El Paso and Fort Hood. Dr. Shortt sees patients who don’t require surgery. Shortt was a guest on KSST’s Good Morning Show with Enola Gay Friday morning.
