Express-News article, "Schools want truants to return to class"

Steve Walker (photo)
Walker Report Publisher
JP Pct. 2, Pl. 1 candidate

Michelle De La Rosa - Express-News

Local educators are stepping up efforts to fill empty desks next year to bring in more state money during tight budget times while getting more students in class and learning.

“It is a very big issue for us,” said Elizabeth Garza, superintendent of the Edgewood Independent School District, one of Bexar County’s 16 districts that struggle with attendance.

“It’s a money factor, for one. More importantly than that, if kids aren’t in school, they’re not learning.”Texas funds public schools based on student attendance — not enrollment — and efforts to boost attendance vary by district. A look at half a dozen San Antonio school districts showed gaps between the number of students on the rolls and the number who actually showed up for class in 2006-07 — ranging between about 5 percent in the South San Antonio Independent School District and 7 percent in the San Antonio Independent School District.

Truant students are costing Bexar County school districts tens of millions of dollars a year, and larger districts, such as San Antonio, Northside and North East, each give up millions per year.

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Schools want truants to return to class

Editor's Note: Walker Report Publisher & Justice of the Peace, Pct. 2, Pl. 1 candidate Steve Walker says he believes as JP he can address truancy more effectively than the current incumbent on the bench based on his dealings with truancy for 26 years in the class room. JP 2 jurisdiction covers all three districts mentioned plus Edgewood ISD.