Trinity County News 2

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Special to the News-Standard

GROVETON — All Groveton ISD campuses were closed Friday based upon the number of students and staff members who were ill, showing symptoms, and testing positive for COVID-19.

The facilities will remain closed until Tuesday, Sept. 7.

According to a letter to students and faculty from incoming Superintendent Jim Dillard, GISD had only 12 students and two employees who tested positive for COVID-19 during the first full week of instruction.

However, in the second week, the numbers of cases increased by more than four times that amount.

Dillard wrote that the action is an inconvenience for many people, but the number of positive cases indicates that action must be taken, as the health and safety of students and staff are of utmost importance.

The 10-day period will allow infected individuals time to self-quarantine and recover, while allowing the cleaning staff an opportunity to deep clean the facilities.

Additionally, no remote instruction will be provided by the district during this closure as we are waiting on further guidance for viable remote learning options. All extracurricular activities, games, and practices will be cancelled until 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 6. 

At that time sponsors, directors, and coaches may resume practices to prepare for their weekly competitions and performances.

Dillard wrote that the school calendar will not be altered unless additional instances occur that require campuses to close. 

Please understand that this decision was not taken lightly but was made out of necessity to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within the school district.

More information may be obtained by the school Facebook page or the school website at www.grovetonisd.net. During this temporary closure, Dillard said parents and guardians were encouraged to monitor children’s health and contact the school offices at (936) 642-1473 if you have any questions, as some staff members will be on hand to answer your call.

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By Tony Farkas
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GROVETON — The Groveton ISD Board of Trustees approved a tax rate that is lower than that of the last fiscal year, meaning property owners will see less on the bill.

The board approved the measure, as well as the certified tax rolls for both Houston and Trinity counties, at its regular meeting on Aug. 23.

Superintendent Don Hamilton said there will be very little change in the budget from last year as well.

ESSER grants helped keep budgeting needs low, which means the proposed tax rate is .9401 per $100 valuation, down from the current rate of .9664 per $100, he said. Hamilton said it will be about 6 cents per $100 less for property owners.

He also said that the money used to give raises would be offset by a decrease in staff due to positions not being filled.

In other business, the board:

•approved the district improvement plan for 2021-22;

•approved a notice of intent to file for additional ESSER funds;

•discussed continuing a federal policy of emergency sick leave, which ended recently, of granting 10 days of leave in COVID cases; and

•discussed the opening day of school, which showed that the district had 761 students enrolled, slightly above last year’s figure.

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Susie Hammond receives the 2020 Do-Gooder of the Year award from Texas Forest Country CEO Nancy Windham for her efforts to help the area during the COVID crisis. Photo by Tony Farkas/TCNS

By Tony Farkas
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GROVETON — The Deep East Texas Council of Governments will spend about $21.5 million dollars in the next fiscal year in its mission to assist the counties in the area.

The budget was approved by members at an Aug. 26 meeting, which was held in Groveton. DETCOG meetings rotate through counties.

Executive Director Lonnie Hunt said the budget reflects a 30.26 percent rate for indirect costs — administration, finance and IT — which is the lowest it has been in years.

“Most of this is very similar to last year,” he said.

The budget reflects revenues of about $21.7 million.

Separately, Hunt discussed problems that he felt occurred in the U.S. Census, which impacted all counties except Nacogdoches, Polk and San Jacinto negatively.

Those figures show that Polk County grew by 4,710 on the high side; however, Newton County dropped 2,228, or more than 15 percent.

Census figures for the 11 counties in the Deep East Texas Council of Governments. Graph courtesy of DETCOGOverall, the Census figures show that there was a 1.36 percent dip in population for the 11-county DETCOG region, while Texas grew at a rate of 15.91 percent, or more than 29 million people. Hunt said that Census was biased against rural areas, meaning the process was flawed.

He said that many entities actually showed an increase in population, but the only figures that matter are the Census numbers. This could mean that East Texas could lose representation in the Texas Legislature, and possibly even at the federal level.

In other business, the board:

• discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the workforce of East Texas;

• approved paying $341,000 for aerial photography to assist appraisal districts and 911 mapping efforts, and $76,499 for Microsoft software licensing; and

• discussed an allocation of $161,542,000 for Hurricane Harvey CDBG-Mitigation, which will become available for counties affected by the Hurricane, which includes Jasper, Newton, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto and Tyler counties.

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By Tony Farkas
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GROVETON — The City of Groveton looks to enact an extremely modest hike in its tax rate for the FY 2021-22 budget.

Currently at .9341 cents per $100 of property valuation, the city is looking to enact a .9479 cents rate. The numbers were discussed at a special budget meeting on Aug. 9.

Mayor Tommy Walton said that increase only will raise an additional $7,000 in additional revenue for the city, or about $13.80 per $100,000 valuation on a home.

“We’re going with what is called a voter approval rate, the highest rate we can charge before having to put a referendum before the voters,” he said. 

The small amount of revenue is because the city’s tax base is so small, but won’t become official until it is approved at the next meeting, Walton said. That number could change as well between now and then.

Walton said the proposed budget includes cost-of-living raises for city employees get modest, which will vary from 1 to 3 percent. The city also hopes to budget for a new salary scale for a police chief and possibly two police officers.

The largest increase will be in funding for road base material, Walton said, as well as funds for outfitting new trucks for the Fire Department. He said there really is no more additional spending.

“We’re looking at new water meters, but that is a capital improvement item, not a budget item,” he said.