January 16, 2004
Vol. 2, No. 1

IN THIS ISSUE:

  • The Rogers Report

  • TREA Events During TASA's Midwinter Conference

  • TREA to Visit ESCs in January

  • 95th Annual NREA Convention Report



HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The Rural News hopes you had a wonderful holiday.





Would you like to highlight items of special interest in your district?

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Contact the Rural News at aokeffe@powell-leon.com


TREA
P.O. Box 1894
Mt. Pleasant, Texas
75456-1894

Telephone (903) 572-8551
Facsimile (903) 575-2618

2003 Officers
Seth Adams,
President
Graham Sweeney,
Vice President
James Morton,
Treasurer
Ronnie Stanley,
Immediate Past President
Franklin Wray,
Past President
Tommy Long,
Past President
L. C. Stout,
Past President
James Hesson,
Past President

Directors
Ken Autrey
Leslie Bennett
Mike Boone
George Brown,
NREA Liaison
Joe Farmer
Donna George
Harvey Hohenberger
Paul Jones
Mark Keahey
Jon Lilley
Thomas Poe
Ron Preston
Jim Shurtleff
Hubert Simpson
Rob Stanley
Robert Stinnett
Delores Thorne
Tommy Turner

Staff
Don Rogers,
Legislative Consultant

1706 West Sixth Street
Austin, Texas 78703-4703

Toll Free (800) 494-1971
Facsimile (512) 494-1188

David Mabe,
Advisor
Scott Ferguson,
Advisor
Kim Thompson,
Secretary

Legal Counsel
Powell & Leon, L.L.P.












































Affiliate of the National Rural Education Association.

TREA Events During TASA's Midwinter Conference on Education

If the holidays are over and the second semester is in full swing, it must be time for TASA's annual Midwinter Conference. Along with school administrators from across the state, TREA will be in Austin on January 26-28. Be sure to stop by the TREA Booth (# 211) between sessions at the Convention Center.

We also invite you to join us at the TREA Annual Midwinter Dinner Meeting on January 27, 2004, at the Hilton Austin North near the intersection of I35 and Hwy 290 (map). The Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m., and we are honored to have Dr. Ed Flathouse, TEA Associate Commissioner for School Finance and Compliance, as our guest speaker. Membership will also be voting on recommended changes to the TREA Bylaws at this meeting.

Tickets to the Dinner are $10 for TREA members and their guests and $20 for non-members. Purchase tickets at the TREA Booth or call Kim Thompson at (903) 575-2608.

Travel safely. We look forward to seeing you in Austin.

TREA to Visit ESCs in January


TREA Incoming President, Dr. Graham Sweeney, Superintendent of Boles ISD, will be visiting the following Education Service Centers this month:

 

  • Tuesday, January 20, 2:00 p.m.
    Region 9,     Wichita Falls
  • Wednesday, January 21, 2:00 p.m.
    Region 16,     Amarillo
  • Thursday, January 22, 2:00 p.m.
    Region 17,     Lubbock
 

The Rogers Report

By Don Rogers,

TREA Legislative Consultant

During the Midwinter Conference, you will want to get to know the good people who take an active role in supporting our state’s rural schools by helping TREA through their generous donations. Please give a special welcome to TREA's Associate Members:


Associate Members

Jay Bauman,
Texas Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS)

Samuel W. Best,
Best Construction Services, Inc.

Joe Guerra,
The Princeton Review

Steve Neece,
Educators Premiere Insurance Agency

Adrienne O’Keefe,
Powell & Leon, LLP

Blake G. Powell,
Powell & Leon, LLP

Mark P. Tilley,
Powell & Leon, LLP

Fred Wilkerson,
Wilkerson Consulting

Justin Yancy,
Governor's Business Council


Among the individuals that support TREA with their generous financial contributions, a small but growing group of leaders stands out–TREA’s Gold Sponsors. Pay a special visit to TREA’s friends and Gold Sponsors.

TREA is represented by Powell & Leon, LLP, because it understands the benefits of effective advocacy. TREA encourages all of its member schools to participate in the legal services program this school law firm provides to TREA member district. Blake Powell, Sara Leon, Karen Johnson and Mark Tilley invite you to visit Powell & Leon, LLP’s shiny new Exhibit Booth at Space 515. Everyone at P&L will also want to introduce the newest member of its legal team, senior law clerk Jamie M. Cameron. Jamie is a third year law student at Baylor University and will graduate in May 2004.

 



Quality school construction at an affordable price are the principles that Sam Best brought with him from the school business office to the construction site a decade ago. Now, Best Construction Services, Inc. is one of the best-known state-wide builders of public schools. Sam Best and Chris Alexander are also frequent speakers on school construction issues. These old friends of TREA can help your school district build its own success story and will be available to answer questions concerning school construction. You will want to visit Sam and Chris and Best Construction Services, Inc. at Exhibit Booth 513.


Is raising your students' scores and their awareness about careers and colleges a priority in your district? If the answer is “yes,” then you need to know Joe. Joe Guerra of The Princeton Review, that is. In addition to test preparation and many other services available though The Princeton Review, Joe can make you aware of the discounts that are available to educators. Visit TREA’s good friend, Joe Guerra. You will find Joe and The Princeton Review at Exhibit Space 635.


This year, TREA is excited about introducing two new friends and sponsors. If your school district has not yet entered into an interlocal purchasing agreement with ESC Region 8's TIPS–Texas Interlocal Purchasing System, you are missing out on some great savings. Likewise, if your district’s enrollment is 1600 or less, you need to know about the property casualty, general liability, educators legal liability, business auto and workers compensation coverage available through TREA’s insurance cooperative, TSPCC–Texas School Property Casualty Cooperative. Jay Bauman of TIPS and Steve Neece of TSPCC will be TREA’s special guests at TREA’s Exhibit Booth, Space 211. Drop by and help us welcome TREA’s newest Gold Sponsors.


Shoreline Grill Reception. On Monday, January 26, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m., Powell & Leon, LLP; Best Construction Services, Inc.; Andrews & Kurth, LLP; and the Texas School Property Casualty Cooperative will jointly host a reception at Austin’s Shoreline Grill near the Four Seasons Hotel.


I look forward to seeing you there.


Sincerely,

95th Annual NREA Convention Report

The 95th Annual NREA Convention held in Kearney, Nebraska, on October 21-25, 2003, proved to be another very successful convention for rural educators from across the nation.


The convention was highlighted by four excellent general session speakers: Congressman and former Nebraska football coachTom Osborne; Mary Kusler, AASA; Doug Christensen, Commissioner of Education in Nebraska; and Jim Boyd, educator and author.


Convention attendees, which numbered more than 300, were treated to an array of concurrent sessions and research forums relating to rural education, with an emphasis on meeting the challenges of No Child Left Behind.


The Annual NREA Foundation Auction proved to be very successful. The auction raised $4,700 for the NREA Foundation. The auction was an evening of fun for a good cause.


Forty exhibitors were registered in support of rural education.


Recognition of Delores Thorne, Sunnyvale, Texas, as the 2003 NREA Teacher of the Year was a convention highlight. Other award winners were Knight Roddy, Clinton, Louisiana, NREA Service Award; Greenbush Middle School, Greenbush, Minnesota, NREA Exemplary Practices/Programs Award; South/West Central Central Services Cooperative, Marshall, Minnesota, NREA Howard A. Dawson Award. The Nebraska Rural Community Schools Association received the Ray Drage Award and the Membership Achievement Award. Pat Schutz, Grand Junction, Colorado, received the Edward W. Chance Memorial Rural Education Dissertation Award, and Ted Coladarci, University of Maine, received the Stanley A. Brzezinski Rural Education Research Award.


The L Street Singers from Fillmore Central High School, Fillmore, Nebraska, were a real hit at the convention. These students exemplified all that is good about rural education.


Of course, the NREA took care of association business during the convention. The Executive Committee, along with all NREA Committees, met to make important decisions for the NREA. The NREA Delegate Assembly approved several very significant changes in the NREA Bylaws. These changes will be shared with the membership.


The 95th Annual NREA Convention closed in anticipation of the 2004 convention. The 96th Annual NREA Convention is scheduled at the Sheraton Keystone Crossing in Indianapolis, Indiana, on October 19-23, 2004.