Saturday, February 25, 2006

Commissioner Shirley Neeley
Texas Education Agency
1701 North Congress Avenue
Austin, Texas 78701

Dear Commissioner Neeley:

I have become increasingly concerned about our failure to receive resources promised to this community and our public schools to help accommodate the thousands of homeless children we welcomed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

As you know, Alief ISD, which is in the district I represent, alone has taken in more than 3,000 students, the highest percentage of any public school district in the state. I met many of these students and their families in my role on Mayor Bill White's hurricane task force, and the generosity of our community was remarkable.
It is unfair to expect our schools to provide an adequate education to these newcomers when our local taxpayers are already stretched to the limit and public education dollars are scarce.

I have been informed that TEA plans to keep a portion of the federal impact assistance expected to be received. The amount to hold back would be derived according to the ratio of state aid districts get as a portion of the normal per-pupil expenditures. If this is TEA's plan, I believe it would be in direct conflict with the intent the federal legislation authorizing the assistance, HB 2863, which clearly states that the impact aid be a multiple of the number of displaced children times the amount of federal aid made available per student.

I urge you in the strongest possible terms to make plans to remove any obstacles which are standing in the way of getting the full amount of promised resources to our community's schools.

As always, if I can be of any help or provide additional information, please don't hesitate to call.

Sincerely,

HUBERT VO