Education-Henderson County Now

AISD Hears Positive Report on Delinquent Tax Collections

By Toni Garrard Clay/AISD Communications Specialist

Members of the Athens ISD Board of Trustees received good news Thursday night when attorney Harvey Allen presented them with the delinquent property tax collections report. Allen is with the Austin-based law firm McCreary, Veselka, Bragg & Allen, P.C., which performs the collection of delinquent property taxes on behalf of the school district.

According to the report, in each of the last four fiscal years, the district’s total revenue from tax collections has exceeded the amount of taxes assessed. That is possible because of the penalties and interest collected on delinquent taxes. The percentage collected for the 2013 tax year (fiscal year ending June 30, 2014) is 101.56 percent. The actual dollar amount is $14,514,582, which includes $243,557 in penalties and interest on delinquent taxes.

Board member Alicea Elliott asked Allen how AISD compares to other school districts in that regard. “Your collection rates here at Athens ISD are about as good as it gets,” he replied.

ALI Attends ‘Education Day’

Members of the Athens Leadership Institute, which is sponsored by the Athens Chamber of Commerce, spent “Education Day” Wednesday touring facilities at Trinity Valley Community College and Athens ISD. The tour of AISD included a look at the studio (pictured here) used by students in the audio/video class. The AV class is part of the high school’s growing Career and Technology Education program. (Toni Garrard Clay/AISD)

‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ Honored at TVCC Conference

Press release

Around 50 students representing 26 area school districts visited the Trinity Valley Community College Athens campus last Saturday to participate in the Leaders of Tomorrow Conference presented by Phi Theta Kappa.

Each student was selected to participate based on their exhibition of leadership qualities in the classroom, on the athletic field or in the community. A number of the students represented their local chapters of student government or the National Honors Society. Continue reading “‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ Honored at TVCC Conference”

AHS Speech and Debate and Math Teams Do Well in UIL

Members of the UIL Speech and Debate Team are (from left) Allan Platt, Samuel Nichols, Chris Hill, Megan Withers, Lydia Strand, Matthew Hernandez, Michael Pulver, Jose Sanchez, Jordan Ramirez and Dusty Rhodes.

Math team members pictured are (from left) Jonathan Bywaters, Walt Mahmoud, Mollie Davies and Eli McCool.

By Nicole Cornish/AHS Speech and Debate Coach

November has been a busy month for the AHS Speech and Debate Team. On Nov. 8, the students competed at the Whitehouse UIL Invitational. Samuel Nichols placed sixth in Congress. Lydia Strand and Megan Withers placed first in DUO Interpretation. Matthew Hernandez and Michael Pulver placed seventh in Policy Debate with an undefeated record.

The UIL Math Team also took home medals from this tournament. In calculator, they won first-place team. Individual awards included Mollie Davies (first place) and Jonathan Bywaters (second place). In Number Sense, they won second-place team. Individual awards included Davies (sixth place) and Joseph Mahmoud (second place).

On Nov. 10, students competed at the UIL District Congress tournament. Sophomores Hernandez and Pulver advanced to the final round of competition. Pulver placed fourth, making him the first alternate to state competition.

This past Saturday, the Number Sense team placed second in UIL. Davies won second place individually, and Mahmoud won sixth place. The team’s coach is Ken Walker.

Continue reading “AHS Speech and Debate and Math Teams Do Well in UIL”

Education Opens Doors for TVCC Student in Medical/Nursing Assistant Program

By Jayson Larson/TVCC Public Information

Shelley Sparks knows what a dead end looks like.

It’s a string of demoralizing minimum-wage jobs with little hope of a raise in pay or position. The hours are long and the labor is physically and mentally exhausting. Education and the prospect of advancement are lean.

But Sparks, a Mabank resident, also knows what hope looks like. She began to recognize it in the classroom at Trinity Valley Community College as she studied in the Medical/Nursing Assistant program through the Community Services and Workforce Education departments.

If you want to make career in CPR, CPR or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is a technique involving other techniques like chest compression and artificial respiration used to save a person’s life by restoring his or her breathing. CPR restores the blood circulation to the heart and brain, and supplies much needed oxygen to the lungs. To know more about CPR then go to CPR Certification St Louis.

“My life has changed in so many ways that it almost seems unreal when I look back to how things were,” said Sparks, a medical assistant at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Kaufman. “I am now making double what I was making only a few years ago.” Continue reading “Education Opens Doors for TVCC Student in Medical/Nursing Assistant Program”