Clint ISD Superintendent speaks to ABC-7 about lawsuit

for the communities of montana vista and horizon city. today, the texas supreme court dismissed a lawsuit filed by two families with children enrolled in the clint independent school district. the lawsuit accused the district of spending more on clint area students giving them newer materials, smaller class sizes and more opportunities. abc- 7’s jerry najera spoke with the district’s superintendent. he joins us live with new information. jerry? estela justice jeffrey boyd dismissed the case saying there was a, quote, “lack of jurisdiction. he argued parents must go through the proper channels before filing the lawsuit. “while it is a victory for ou school district and perhaps for public education across the state more importantly for me is the reassurance to our community” clin independent school district super intendent juan martinez says he feels a bit relief know the lawsuit was dismissed. the families sued three years ago with the help of a local civil rights group. they accused the district of directing more funds to schools in the clint area. according to the paseo del norte civil rights project: in between 2009 and 2010 … spending per student was at $9,893 at clint high– $8,492 at mountain view high … and 6,471 at horizon high. the district questions the numbers, arguing there are many factors to take into consideration … like administrative costs. “small school ten to cost more basically because the salary of a principle is the same at a large school than a smaller school so when you factor in the salary of principles, teachers, counselors and then the number of students then obviously you will determine that your spending more at the school” martinez says even something as simple as water use in the area can make a difference “in some areas such as montana vista we have our own well for water versus horizon we use city water clint we use irrigation water so there are different factors in every single community depending where they are located” martinez tells m federal and state funds are specifically appropriated for students and neither him or the board have control over who gets how much. “in terms of the education we provide and the funding we provide it is strictly specifically ruled by a formula based on the needs of students” martinez says any parent with concerns over the budget can pay him a visit. he also urges residents in montana vista and horizon to attend the budget meetings so they be involved in the process. we did try to contact the paseo del norte civil rights project for a statement we were not able to get a response before this newscast. jerry, thank you for that report. new information from our new mexico mobile newsroom. las cruces