The government structured for the city of Weslaco, Texas is a council-manager style of government (Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce, 2014). The City Mayor along with the six City Commissioners hold power over the decision making of the city of Weslaco, Texas. Local Economy and Business The businesses that surround the community, depicts this community as an improvement of growth for the city of Weslaco. Therefore, these communities play a major role in keeping the economy upturn. The economy of this city is thriving. Many of the businesses are owned by local residents, such as independent pharmacies, beauty salons, and corner stores. While other businesses such as Walmart, HEB, The Home Depot and Lowes are owned by huge corporations. …show more content…
Participants will then receive a voucher from the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP), in which they can use in any housing as long as it meets the requirements of the program (Weslaco Housing Authority, 2017). For example, if a unit costs $1,800 and the participants voucher is for $1,350, the participant is then responsible to pay for the difference of $450. There is a shortage of low-income housing, due to this participants are then placed on a waiting list which is determined by the date and time the application was received by the Weslaco Housing Authority. Educational Facilities and Programs The educational system in Weslaco consist of a Superintendent and the School Board members who work together as a team to warrant that the Weslaco School District efficiently administers. The community supports the school district through the Latch Key Program which is an after school program provided by the Boys and Girls Club. There are many school districts throughout the city of Weslaco. There are 3 public High Schools, 11 Elementary Schools, 4 Middle Schools, 5 Charter Schools and as well as some Private Schools. Treatment of Special Populations of Children Children with special needs are welcomed by the community. Special needs children are integrated in the same classrooms as other children, giving them the sense of normality. Various learning centers throughout Weslaco provide preschool children with
Texas has a unique history among the states. Several countries have laid claim to the territory which now comprises it, and the state was briefly an independent republic before joining the union in 1845. Today it is known as a leader in job creation, energy production, a laissez-faire approach to economics, and sound public finances. The state is comprised of 254 counties, which is more than any other state. This means that government in Texas is quite decentralized. The state has no towns, townships, boroughs, or villages as local municipalities. Instead, Texans reside in either incorporated areas (local authority being a city) or an unincorporated one (in which case the local authority is a county). The state government incentivized efficiency
In the State of Texas, the Council-Manager form of government is preferred by all of the major cities, except for Houston who prefer the Mayor-Council form of government. Under the Council-Manager form of government, the voters are at the top of the hierarchical structure. In this capacity, the voters elect a small City Council, including a mayor, who is the presiding officer over the City Council. Although the Mayor is symbolically the “Head of State”, he or she is not the head of government. The Mayor and City Council have the authority to appoint four of the city’s government officials: the City Manager, the City Attorney, the City Clerk and the Municipal Judge (some cities elect this position). Moreover, although weak in this form of government, the Mayor has a vote on many issues impacting the city; however, lacks any type of veto authority (except in a few cities), which means that laws are passed by on a majority-rule voting system of the total City Council Members, meaning all City Council Members must vote in order to pass a law. Most importantly, the Mayor and City Council primary role lies in the establishment of a strategic vision for the city. Once this is accomplished, the Mayor and the City Council are responsible for generating a strong mission statement that aligns with a set of clear goals, resulting in effective government policy guidance for execution by the City Manager to run the city. Collectively, the Mayor and City Council hire the City Manager who has full management authority, to execute the Mayor’s and City Council’s vision for the city. However, a City
The Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 enacted a voucher program, the Section 8 Housing Allowance program that has since been renamed the Housing Choice Voucher program (HCV). In the original program vouchers were sent directly to qualifying landlords, however, in 1988, the terms were changed so that the tenants now receive the vouchers. Tenants were given more leeway in where and how the vouchers could be used (Teater, 2008).
Preparing regular education teachers to address the diverse needs of children with special needs in inclusive set up.
This is why we have three branches of government. Made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the legislative branch in Texas is forced to resort to the constitutional amendment process in order to get things accomplished (Newell et al. 59). This is another form of limiting powers of one branch. The executive branch in Texas has little power compared to that of the United States Constitution. The Governor is elected statewide and instead of being able to appoint his cabinet, like the President would, he does not get to choose who is appointed to any other government job. On a positive note, the Governor of Texas can run for an unlimited amount of terms. Lastly, the judicial branch of Texas is almost too confusing to even discuss. If you want to be elected as a judge, you do not need to have experience with the law. Just win the popular vote and you are now a
The neighborhoods throughout the Weslaco community support and accept children with special needs. For instance, traffic signs are visible which indicate the need for vigilance while driving through that particular neighborhood
Mandira Pandey Professor Sherifian GOVT 2306-73004 1 May 2017 Local control in Texas The government of Texas is composed of entire democratic state government which uses municipal levels and dillion rule. It works beneath the constitution of Texas. The government of Texas is divided into three branches i.e. 1 executive legislative and judiciary. Executive for carrying out laws. Whereas, legislative for making laws. Likewise, judiciary branch aims for interpreting laws.
In Texas local governments play a major role in the wellbeing and safety of its citizens. In each county of Texas there are an average of about 19 general purpose governments, that means that all the county general purpose local governments combined would be more than 4,800. In the United States of America all but two states have governmental units known as counties or parishes. County government is primarily a way of governing rural areas, because Texas is so vast, with huge areas that are sparsely populated, county government remains an important aspect of local government. County governments in rural areas do not actually have the ability to govern themselves, they act more as an extension of state government.
The four principal forms of municipal government used in the United States and Texas-strong mayor-council, weak mayor-council, council-manager, and commission-have numerous variations. The council-manager form prevails in more than 80 percent of Texas' home-rule cities, and variations of the mayor-council system work in numerous general-law cities.
According to a recent poll, 70 percent of Texas residents say that they are proud of their state and rank it among the best places to live. One of the most striking features about the poll was that the residents of the Lone Star State ranked their trust in local and state government significantly higher than 88 percent of residents in all other states (Aasen, 20014). The Texas legislature is so efficient in its tasks that it meets less than any other legislature in the United States. Coming from a Southeastern state, this trust in government is a concept that is quite unfamiliar to me.
A quality that I believe is critical to working with an individual with special needs is having a positive attitude. It is very important that you maintain your attitude and keeping your team and children motivated while working towards the continued success and also keeping energy levels up. Children can feed off your energy, so if you’re walking around feeling down or upset a child can pick up on your attitude and sometimes this can cause problem
A large portion of the general population who head the official branch of Texas government have never had full control over it. Other chose authorities head a portion of the real offices, and an effective administrative branch can, with solid identities in control, control the organizations to some degree by controlling their financial plans.
“Key to success in collaborating with families of young children with special needs is a commitment to coordinated planning and communication between teachers and early intervention staff that establishing ongoing communication and linking families to community resources”. (Kasczmarek, 2006)
Local governments in Texas all have the same structure. The difference between national and local government is local has the biggest impact in our daily lives. For example, school districts, parks, roads, water conservation, infrastructure, local law enforcement, and fire protection. Local government determines what kind of school you’ll send your child to, are the roads you’re driving on safe, is the neighborhood we’re living in right now safe, and many more. Within the state of Texas, there are 1,200 plus cities and towns, 254 counties, 3,300 plus special districts, and councils of government (also defined as political subdivision of the state).
The teacher needs to prepare students to be accepting of the special needs students by being honest about the nature of the child's disability and/or behavior difficulty. Although inclusion seems like a great idea that should be of some form of benefit for all involved, if not handled properly it can become a very stressful situation