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District approves calendar

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Efficiency is the name of the game at the Fort Stockton Independent School District, and the FSISD school board on April 26 approved the campus calendars for the 2023-24 school year to include a 4-and-a-half-day school week for middle and high school students. The idea is to allow school staff more conference, tutoring and training time.
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County enters into agreement with PACE

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The Pecos County Commissioner’s Court officially established the PACE Authority – Property Assessed Clean Energy – during the April 24 commission meeting, becoming one of 86 counties in Texas to establish the program. PACE, simply, is a financial tool to encourage property owners to upgrade facility infrastructure with little or no capital outlay.
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City allocates funds for Outdoor Fitness Court

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Fort Stockton is taking steps to become healthier, and at Monday night’s city council meeting, an important step was made when the council adopted Resolution 23-111R, allocating funds for an Outdoor Fitness Court at Gene Cummings Park. The city applied for a grant as part of the National Fitness Campaign and accepted a $40,000 National Grant from the National Fitness Campaign Grant Committee and Statewide Partners, and will provide a local match of $35,000, plus additional extension of the concrete slab, as well as the $7,500 for the installation of a Fitness Court Studio to promote and implement a free-to-the-public outdoor Fitness Court.
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Rivera ends school board tenure, plans to run for county commissioner

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Making a positive impact in the community where he grew up is a constant priority for Fort Stockton native Andy Rivera. His passion for bettering the lives of youth in the area led him to the Fort Stockton ISD School Board six years ago and providing scholarships for high school seniors as owner of Triple R Welding.
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Capital Highlights: Dueling tax proposals in the Lege

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The Texas House passed a bill promising $17 billion in tax relief, a measure that is at odds with the Senate’s tax break plan, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The House bill would lower by half a home’s cap on appraisal increases. It passed overwhelmingly, 141-9. However, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, said that body will not approve it, preferring its plan to raise property exemptions from $40,000 to $70,000.

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Senate approves $308 billion budget

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The Senate gave unanimous support Monday to a plan that would spend $308 billion in state and federal funds over the next two years.

Lawmakers came into Austin with $32 billion left over from the last budget and have used that surplus to increase salaries for state employees, teachers, healthcare workers, increase benefits for retired teachers, and to enact the largest property tax cut in state history.