The University of Texas’s travel spending supersedes other state education agencies

Travel Expenses 2013 (University of Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech)

With the school year still unfinished the University of Texas at Austin has already broken last year’s spending levels for travel. In comparison to the state’s other top public schools, UT allocates the most money towards these expenses.

With four months left until the fiscal year ends for public institutions, the University of Texas’s has already spent $880,000 of Texas’s taxpayers’ money for traveling -- $35,000 more than the 2012 numbers show. Other top universities in the state, like Texas A&M in College Station and Texas Tech University of Lubbock, have reported travel expenses less than one-sixth of UT’s.  

UT’s official website has outlined the guidelines for state-funded travel. The site explains that the university will cover the expenses of current employees, prospective employees, students or independent contractors’ travel so long that “the purpose of travel must clearly involve university official business.”

Since Sept. 1, 2012, UT has spent almost $260,000 in meals and lodging, in-state and out-of-state combined. That amount equates to two professors and an assistant professor’s salary or six $40,000 scholarships -- about the amount of tuition for four years at the university. In the same time frame, Texas Tech’s latest reports showed approximately $76,000 of meal and lodging expenses, and Texas A&M spent just over $40,000.

In international travel, UT spent more than any other public university in Texas and placed second highest among all of the state’s public agencies. The only school that came close to UT’s foreign travelling expenses was the University of North Texas, which spent about half the amount of UT’s $100,000 expenditures. Texas Tech and Texas A&M reported spending none of the state’s money, thus far, for international travel.

“[Texas] A&M does not do any foreign travel on state funded accounts,” said Kyle Metcalf, the financial director of Texas A&M’s Financial Management Operations. “All of our foreign travel occurs on our locally funded accounts.”

UT and Texas A&M have ranked among the top schools in Texas for years, remaining as the only two Tier 1 public universities in Texas (until last year when the University of Houston made the cut).

A university earns Tier 1 status by meeting a federally set criteria, including categories like total research expenditures, faculty awards, and median students’ SAT and ACT test scores. These schools receive higher amounts from the government for research funding than Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4 institutions.

In order for a university to remain a Tier 1 ranked school and receive the highest amount of federal research funding, they must continue progressing. UT’s spending trend has illustrated their drive to constantly meet that goal. Since the website has emphasized to students that the institution will bring international diversity to their educational experiences, the travel of spending may not see a decrease anytime soon.

He manages just about everything, just don’t call him John.

Exhausted from a long day of classes, interning, work, and rugby practice, the towering 6-foot-five John James Pepper pushed back his long, wind-blown hair and lethargically closed his apartment door as he returned home at 9:45 p.m. for the first time since 7:45 a.m. He threw down his bulging backpack and overflowing athletics bag, opened the refrigerator, picked out a cold piece of pizza for dinner, grabbed his archery book, and began studying for the exam he had at 8 a.m the next day.

JJ Pepper grew up in the small town of Blanco, Texas. After graduating high school, he remained close to home as he began studying health promotion at the University of Texas at Austin in 2009. He always knew he wanted to help people when he grew up, but it wasn’t until he suffered an injury in middle school during football season that he aspired to help people by training them to live a healthier, physical life.

Pepper’s most notable symbol of his willingness to help others drapes down his face, reaching below the neckline. Two years ago, one of Pepper’s best friends growing up was diagnosed with cancer. When she told him the news, he responded, “Well, take mine,” and vowed to never cut his hair until she needed it. “If by grace of God she doesn’t go into [chemotherapy], I can give it to locks of love,” he said.

          

Outside of his student life, Pepper plays rugby on the university’s club team. “I really love to play rugby – it’s probably my number one thing,” Pepper said as he described his out-of-school activities. He enjoys playing on the team because “the best friends [he’s] ever made are on the rugby team.” Noah Villalobos, the team’s former captain and Pepper’s closest friend, says Pepper is a great ally to have on and off the field, because he pours his blood and heart into everything. “No matter where we are, I know he has my back,” Villalobos said as he laughed and followed up with, “and he’s not bad as a wingman either.”

If he can’t be found in the classroom or on the gridiron, try looking for him at one of his two jobs or his internship. During the week, Pepper helps teach a personal training class with Fitness Institute – Texas, also known as FIT. He also works as a strength and conditioning intern with the college’s men’s basketball team, where he helps the athletes stay fit to prevent injury from occurring during play. On the weekends, Pepper stands guard outside of Rooftop, a bar located in the well-known party district of Austin – east 6^th street.

Pepper struggles with balancing his full schedule. He said it’s nice that most of his extracurricular activities are somewhat relative to his major, but his weekend job at the bar keeps him up till 4 or 5 a.m., draining the energy he needs for the following week. “It’s like a constant cycle of exhaustion, but I have to do it,” He sighed.

He “has to do it” because Pepper financially supports himself. He doesn’t receive outside help from his family. His mom, Peggy Pepper, said she wishes she could offer her son more monetary assistance, but after her older two son’s college education and the increased price of tuition, her and her husband simply can’t afford it. “I know it’s hard for JJ, but he manages to keep his grades up. I am proud of him, “ she said with a reassuring smile.

Although he has a demanding life -- two jobs, an internship, 13 hours of college courses -- Pepper asks for just one thing (other than not calling him John). He requests that, no matter what the circumstances are, good people surround him. He concluded, “If I’m around the right people, the setting doesn’t really matter, because I’m always able to have a good time.”

AISD still undecided about Eastside Memorial's future

At Monday’s board meeting, Austin Independent School District board members struggled to decide on their next plan of action regarding the possible closure of Eastside Memorial High School, leaving its students and their parents still wondering about the future of their school. 

Eastside Memorial was originally established as Johnston High School in 1960. Since 2004, the school’s low performance, according to Texas Education Agency standards, has called for increasingly strict state oversight. Former Texas Education Commissioner, Michael Scott, forced the school’s closure in 2008, making it the second forced school closure in the state. After further review, the commissioner allowed AISD members to repurpose the school, and in Aug. 2008, the school reopened as Eastside Memorial High School at the Johnston Campus.

Texas’s education board members threaten to close the high school once again as it continues to receive “unacceptable” ratings by the state. Texas Education Commissioner Michael L. Williams provided AISD Board of Trustees with three options for Eastside Memorial. After their meeting on Monday, the council postponed a decision, with six weeks to devise a plan that will determine the school’s future.

Parents of Eastside Memorial students and the high school’s alumni haven’t stopped fighting for the school since the closure of Johnston High in 2008. Robert Dominguez, a parent, a Johnston alumnus and vice president of Eastside Memorial Parent Teacher Student Association, says the district should leave the school alone. If the school closes, the students will have to relocate, which could cause them to feel left out of their new school, Dominguez said. “It’s not fair for the kids, the parents or the community.” He worries about the future of the students, as his daughter currently attends Eastside Memorial.

The three options facing AISD board members include: (1) close down Eastside Memorial, (2) have a non-profit organization or another district take over the school, or (3) continue their contract with IDEA or find another partner. As of their meeting on Feb. 23, the trustees concluded they would not pursue further partnership with IDEA Charter School. Now, the trustees consider either closing the school at the end of the 2012-2013 or finding a new partner.

AISD trustees and Superintendent Meria Carstarphen say they wish to keep the school open. In search for new partners, they have created a Request for Proposals, which provides vendors the guidelines and instructions on how to submit their proposal for possible partnership with the school.  According to an approved timeline, within the next six weeks, the board plans to open proposal submission, consider the provided plans, and take the chosen decision to the Commissioner.

The timeline proposed was scheduled to be voted on at Monday’s meeting, but was already approved before session began. Larry Amaro, Johnston High alum and PTSA member, questioned how the timeline was already accepted prior to the meeting. During session, District 6 Trustee Lori Moya openly asked how the pre-mature approval came about, but was told they would answer her question in private session by the board’s legal council.

With the six-week time constraint, trustees and members of the community worry whether or not the board will have enough time to come up with a sufficient solution. Amaro says the commissioner will want a plan that is as good as IDEA or better, but there isn’t enough time to create one. “They’re essentially planning to get what [the PTSA] has been working on for a year completed in six weeks.” Vincent Torris, President of the Board of Trustees, agrees with Amaro. He says a solution will take longer than they have, and at this point, the board isn’t prepared to solve the problem.

The trustees plan to have a possible partner lined up by their next general board meeting on April 22. With more time to look over the timeline and Request for Proposals, Carstarphen says she hopes the board will be better prepared to discuss the future of Eastside Memorial and reach a substantial decision that she can take and propose to the board.           

INTERACTIVE TIMELINE

The Grand Prix comes to Austin, hosting some of swimming's top athletes.

Jan. 18-20, 2013 at Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, Austin, Texas

Reported by: Alexis Chastain
Filmed by: Alexis Chastain, Alex Stockwell, Haley Gray