Police foundation holding charity gala

The Lakeway Police Foundation and the Lakeway Police Department will hold their third annual Christmas Gala from 6 to 11 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Lakeway Resort and Spa, 101 Lakeway Drive.

The evening will recognize police department officers and civilians with awards and feature a seated dinner, silent and live auction and a casino event.

The foundation accepts donations to support employees, families and friends of the police department in the case of emergency or misfortune. For more information, go to lpmbf.org. To purchase tickets go to the Lakeway Police Department, 104 Cross Creek.

Frank Rodriguez, who has served on the Central Health board since voters created the hospital district in 2004, has asked the Travis County Commissioners Court not to reappoint him to another four-year term. He will serve until commissioners name a replacement.

Currently vice chairman of the nine-member board, Rodriguez said he has accomplished his goals and wants to be more engaged in grassroots health care issues. He helped create the Latino Healthcare Forum, a nonprofit that will document health disparities among Hispanics and mount projects to improve their health status.

Rodriguez noted that with the recent passage of a property tax to fund health projects, some of Central Health’s responsibilities will likely shift to the nonprofit it will create to coordinate health care services to low-income people with chronic conditions.

“I want to apply what I have learned as a board member and use it to the community’s benefit,” Rodriguez said.

Charles Dupre, Pflugerville school superintendent for the past six years, took the stand in Texas’ ongoing school finance trial on Tuesday to highlight funding disparities that some say are arbitrary and violate the state constitution.

Pflugerville has the lowest per student funding of 13 Central Texas school districts while levying the same property tax rate as most of its neighbors. Nearby Hutto is the second lowest but gets $315 more per student than Pflugerville while Jarrell, in Williamson County, has $1,417 more.

Pflugerville is a fastgrowing school district with a student population that is largely minority and lowincome. Students speak 65 to 70 different languages, the superintendent said.

“We’re participating in this litigation because school funding in the state of Texas is not equitable and it is not adequate. … Our children are worth the same amount as every other student in Central Texas and in the state of Texas,” Dupre testified.

“What really drove us over the edge is that the system itself is random and capricious. It is not even logical,” Dupre added.

Dupre said his district would not consider raising its tax rate to the $1.17 maximum — up from the current $1.04 — because the extra revenue would only replace