Bent Tree People (Newspaper) - December 9, 2005, Dallas, Texas B REAL ESTATE Plants help people grow GIFT GUIDE Give and give SQ 5 I FRIDAY DECEMBER 9 VOL Z ISSUE 49 e ONE QUARTER I Audit Brings Love Field Under Fire Low fees habitual deficit raise questions By Marina Italian Martinez Staff Writer Dallas Love Field Airport has come under scrutiny since the Dallas City Coun cil and Mayor noticed seri flaws reported in a Janu ary audit of aviation leases and rental agreements The audit called into ques tion the reasonableness of its rates and fees found fault with leases and noted a budget deficit reported over the past three years With million in the aviation departments bank account a deficit is hard to fathom These are not tax dol lars said Aviation Director Kenneth Gwyn These are dollars generated by tenants and people who use the air port That money cannot be considered profit because of federal regulation prohibit ing airports from operating as a business The airports million debt service including interest for its new parking garage is causing the deficit Gwyn said If it was not for the debt service wed be on the up side he said adding that the problem was bated by the drop in passen gers after and the debt service that began in 2002 Gwyn explained that the million earmarked for capital improvements was used to cover the more than million deficit from fiscal year 2005 and will continue to cover deficits until rea sonable rates and fees to cover normal operating expenses are proposed to and approved by the City Council When the Dallas City Council heard the aviation department had a deficit they wondered whether the department had been by the city since it has been able to pay its bills despite reported deficits Upon further study of the audit the Council and mayor then became disturbed about the aviation depart ments financial manage ment according a report in late November The auditor suggested that Gwyn should make the airport I am not comfortable working within that deficit so Im looking for ways to generate new revenue said Gwyn Landing fees at Love are currently 35 cents per 1000 Ibs compared to nearly at See AUDIT Page STAFF PHOTOS MICHAEL BROADBENT RAPPING REINDEER Darren McElroy sings Sleigh Wash during Act One of Baptist Churchs Dallas Christmas Festival Celebrates Christmas in Broadway Style Dallas festival to entertain 70000 By Sarah P Henry Staff Writer The music staff at Preston wood Baptist Church uses every stage trick in the book for this years Dallas Christ mas Festival The production has brought together the glitz of Broadway and the acrobatic stunts of Cirque du Soleil for an allout spectacle to dazzle audiences of all ages The show starts with a bang as Christmas elves rap pel down from the rafters and wave in Santa and Mrs Glaus sleigh with orange air wands The sleigh flies in from 150 feet in the air from the back of the auditorium to the stage The elves swarm to help load the presents and Santa is quickly off on his way again to deliver toys to all the good boys and girls on Christmas Eve Mrs Glaus decides to cel BALLERINA BEAUTY Leighton Lloyd waltzing like a dancer from a music box in the show is center stage during Act One with a rousing Broad musical number clad in a slinky sparkly red dress and white feather boa while elves tap dance along side her At the end of the number colored confetti pops and pours down from the ceiling dusting the audience with curls of shiny pink gold sil ver and blue And thats all in the first 10 minutes Santa flying in is the new big thing said Stage tor Michael Meis Its pretty exciting The show is comprised of three acts and spans two andahalf hours The first act is comprised of secular Christmas favorites with new twists on popular songs The choir comprised of more than 520 voices makes a dramatic entrance in the second act Choir members cover every inch of the 15000 stage They sing several Christian Christmas carols including Joy to the World and Hark the Her ald Angels Sing in which the audience is invited to join in by Director Todd Bell Bell executive producer and musical director for the show since it began in 1992 says hes never numb to the power that the program emits I think the thing that is the most exciting about what were doing is we believe See CHRISTMAS Pme Scared Scrooge PHOTO LONNIE EKICKSON The ghost of Jacob Marley Ryan Cox appears to Scrooge Tyler Cloud during Trinity Christian performance of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol The show ran last weekend in the TCA auditorium For more photos see Page School Finance Reform Offers Officials Hope Superintendent wants money to enrich programs smaller classes and increase salaries By Sarah P Henry Staff Writer The verdict is in and the Texas Supreme Court ruled the states school finance system unconstitutional Piano ISD Superintendent Dr Doug Otto is pleased with the courts ruling but is still that even bet ter changes are yet to come Im encouraged because we did prevail on the tax issue and we got some good tion from the courts Otto said Im very encouraged by the ruling I think it will even tually lead to increased fund ing for school districts The court ruled 71 two weeks ago saying the property tax system for funding public schools is unconstitutional because most districts are forced to tax at or dangerously close to the maximum rate at per Otto said the district has had to go to the cap just to maintain programs required by the state We just dont have any lati tude in our tax rate for spending to enrich our programs he said The court set a deadline for the Legislature to come up with a new way to fund the schools by June 2006 in time for the 200607 school year However that ruling alone does not guarantee that the schools will receive more money That particular ruling only assures that property taxes will probably be decreased and that the legislature will have to devise a new mix of property sales and business taxes to make up the difference Otto said The House and the Senate already have been through a regular session and two special sessions regarding the flawed school finance system been unable to come up with a compromise until now Much to many districts dis may the Supreme Court did not find the adequacy portion of the law suit unconstitutional Districts had argued that they have no way to sufficiently fund the educational requirements mandated by the state Otto on the other hand believes there was a positive side to the ruling I take heart because while they did not rule that the system was underfunded they did say the state was perilously close to being underfunded he said And the courts did rule that dis have a right to argue the issue that it is not strictly politi cal As a result of the million the Piano ISD is required to return to the state as a part of the Robin Hood wealth tion system schools have had to make deep budget cuts Piano West Senior High School Principal Phil Saviano along with all the other second ary school principals in the Piano ISD has had to reduce the number of teachers on his staff increase existing teachers work loads and increase class sizes because of the lack of funds as a result of Robin Hood The Legislature has just less than seven months to get the job done and Otto thinks its likely it will take until June 1 The Return of Friendship Dallas native Sally Horchow and her famous father share the art of connecting By Glenn Arbery Senior Editor Friendship was once under stood as a necessary part of the good life Aristotle for example spent many pages of his Ethics dealing with it concluding that a person would be lucky to have one good friend in a lifetime But friends on this level meant one soul in two ideal that long ago slipped away from us culturally except in the best of mar But the life of enjoyable friendships need not be so singular Real friendships are never calculated for their use fulness to ones ambitions in business or society More than any other insight thats the key to the new book by Roger Horchow and his daughter Sally I asked Sally Horchow whether they wrote The Art COURTESY PHOTO KEEPS Writer Sally Horchow and her father Roger Hor chow a businessman and producer wrote explain how they make connections and keep up friendships of Friendship 70 Simple Rules for Making Meaningful Con See HORCHOW READER POLL Last weeks question Should the taken out of retailers holiday advertisements This weeks question Should the Scots game against Marshall for state championship be moved to the Cotton Bowl Vote online WEATHER ro Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy
