August 24, 2016 Issue

During its regular August meeting, the Blanco City Council voted to approve an ordinance requiring anyone living outside the city but within the city’s extra-territorial jurisdiction to sign a voluntary annexation petition before applying for a water tap. The ordinance comes as part of a lawsuit filed against Cielo Springs developer Lee Roper for years of illegally providing city water to residents of his development. An extra-territorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, is the area a half-mile wide sur ...

The Blanco Independent School District Board of Education is expected to present and pass the same tax levy as it did a year ago. The school board has called a special meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 29, in the high school library to discuss the 2016-17 proposed budget and tax rate. The district’s overall tax rate is $1.1962 for every $100 of assessed valuation, or just under $1.20.

After reconsidering the issue, the Blanco Independent School District will keep its policy requiring that all students use see-through backpacks. The board of education reviewed several items in the district’s student-parent handbook during its August meeting, one of which was the backpack issue. The policy didn’t require any kind of vote since it already is in effect. “I want to thank all the patrons of our district who have provided input on the district’s see-through backpack rule,

Blanco was among the nearly 94 percent of Texas school districts that achieved a “met standard” rating for 2016 by the Texas Education Agency. The TEA released its annual accountability ratings earlier this month, and Blanco ISD scored well above the index target in all categories. “I want to recognize and congratulate all our employees on their contributions to the district and campuses meeting all state accountability standards for 2016,” Blanco Superintendent Buck Ford said.