e-Texas - Education

Academic Background: Bachelor of Arts in Business, Concordia University, Austin; post-graduate work in Accounting. Ressel is a Certified Public Accountant.

Key Projects: Five Texas Performance Reviews, Texas School Performance Reviews, and a review of Texas Southern University

Betty Ressel has more than 20 years of management and organizational experience in the private and public sectors. At present, she is manager of the Comptroller's Texas School Performance Review (TSPR) . In this role, Ressel oversees the activities of consultants and Comptroller analysts and regularly interacts with the state leadership, the Commissioner of Education, the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Legislature on education-related issues.

During the past six years, Ressel has participated in Comptroller reviews of the Windham School System, Texas Southern University, and the El Paso Community College, as well 25 TSPR reviews of Texas public school districts. Ressel was the primary author of TSPR's publications: Top Ten Ways to Improve Public Schools, Keeping Texas Children Safe in School, and Food for Thought: Ideas for Improving Food Service Operations. Under Ressel's guidance, TSPR was one of 10 winners nationwide selected for the 1999 Innovations in American Government Awards administered by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, in partnership with the Council for Excellence in Government.

In addition to her work on school reviews, Ressel researched, formulated and published recommendations for five of the Comptroller's Texas Performance Review (TPR) major reports. Ressel also served on the Comptroller's first Renaissance Team in 1992, the Legislative Analysis and Cost Estimating (LACE) Renaissance review team. LACE investigated the agency's procedures for legislative analysis, cost estimating and fiscal noting and made recommendations for streamlining and improving the process. From 1993 through 1995, as chair of the Implementation Subcommittee of the Renaissance Steering Committee, Ressel facilitated the agencywide implementation of all Renaissance recommendations.

Academic Background: Bachelor of Arts in Government, University of Texas at Austin; Masters in Political Science, University of Houston.

Tom Currah has more than eight years of experience in advanced statistics, policy analysis and research design. His major area of expertise is in education policy. Prior to joining the Comptroller's office, Currah worked as an independent consultant, conducting research primarily on education for Texas legislators, the media and public interest groups. Currah taught political science at the University of Houston and has written papers for presentation at academic conferences and academic journals. He is in the final stages of earning his Ph.D. from the University of Houston.

Academic Background: Bachelor of Science in Political Science, University of Texas at Tyler.

Areas of Expertise: Purchasing, competitive contracting, facilities use and management and transportation

Twanna Buford has eight years of experience in Texas state government and has directed and participated in numerous large-scale government reengineering projects. A veteran of both TPR and TSPR projects, Buford developed issues concerning managed competition and privatization for TPR and participated in TSPR's reviews of the following school districts: Corpus Christi, Socorro, Spring, Ysleta, Comal, Killeen, and San Antonio, as well as the El Paso Community College and Texas Southern University reviews. She also worked on an in-depth study of state contract payment methods and the review of Austin's Capital Metro. Buford served as the Comptroller's assigned staff liaison to the Council on Competitive Government, which is charged with opening up state services to competition from both the public and private sectors.

Before joining the Comptroller, Buford worked at the Texas Secretary of State's Office, where she assisted in the development of Project V.O.T.E., a curriculum guide intended to help school children learn about the election process.

Academic Background: Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, Southwest Texas State University. Cathey is a Certified Government Financial Manager.

Lesli Cathey has nearly 10 years of experience as an auditor and analyst on projects designed to improve government operations and save taxpayers' money. Cathey worked as a member of TPR from its inception, serving in the original TPR project in 1991 while still an employee of the Texas State Auditor's Office. After joining the Comptroller's office, Cathey served as education team leader for two major TPR reports. Cathey's TPR projects included reviews of Austin's transit system, Capital Metro; the state's collection of receivables and delinquent obligations; the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program at the Texas Department of Health; the Texas School for the Deaf; the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation; and the Texas Workforce Commission. At present, Cathey is a TSPR team member, most recently acting as project manager for the Killeen ISD school review.

Before joining the Comptroller's office, Cathey work at the State Auditor's Office involved financial, performance, management and efficiency audits of numerous state agencies, higher education institutions and public schools.

Academic Background: Bachelor of Arts in History, University of Wisconsin at Madison; Masters in Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, LBJ School of Public Affairs.

Key Projects: Texas Performance Reviews, Forces of Change and Reengineering Steering Committee

Jeff Cole has 15 years of experience in Texas state government and public policy. He has been a TPR education team leader and has directed several projects on topics such as business/education partnerships and access to higher education. He helped develop the Comptroller's proposal for a pre-paid higher education tuition program, worked with legislative staff to provide assistance with the resulting legislation and directed the program's marketing activities from 1995 to 1997. In addition, he has authored numerous articles on education topics for the Comptroller's Fiscal Notes publication and the Texas Research League's Analysis. Cole also has participated in the agency's Forces of Change study and was a member of the Comptroller's internal Reengineering Steering Committee.

Before joining the Comptroller's office, Cole was a research analyst with the Texas Research League in Austin, a business-sponsored research organization, where he participated in numerous research projects on topics including access to higher education, judicial selection, property taxation and drop-out prevention in public schools. He directed a two-year study of business involvement in public schools that received the Governmental Research Association's Most Distinguished Research Award in 1992.

Academic Background: Bachelor of Science in Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of Texas at Austin; Masters in Child Development, University of Texas at Austin; Postgraduate work in psychometrics, statistics, and educational administration, University of Texas at Austin.

Areas of Expertise: public education, statistics, psychometrics, dropout prevention, state and federal programs for special populations and at-risk students

Key Projects: e-Texas fiscal estimates and tracking of related legislation; preparation of reports on the success of e-Texas proposals; e-Texas issue papers relating to public education; and the Texas School Performance Review Web page on investment strategies for school districts.

Before joining the Comptroller's office in March 2000, Cathy Cox worked for the Texas Education Agency (TEA), where she served as statistician for the state-mandated academic skills tests; researcher and computer programmer in the Division of Research; program director for dropouts and at-risk youth; director of the state-mandated dropout information clearinghouse; and executive assistant to the deputy commissioner for the Education of Special Populations and Adults.

As executive assistant to the deputy commissioner, Cox coordinated special population issues during several state and federal legislative sessions, including the Texas Legislature's rewrite of the Texas Education Code. She also served as staff writer for TEA's first strategic plan and coordinated the agency's first consolidated state plan for federal education funds. In another initiative, Cox worked with the Comptroller's office and State Auditor's Office on the development of a state accountability system for the use of compensatory education funds. Cox also managed the state's prekindergarten and kindergarten grant program.

Before joining TEA, Cox was an education researcher for Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.

Academic Background: Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education and Bilingual Education, with certifications in both areas, Southwest Texas State University.

Areas of Expertise: Education policy, early childhood issues and bilingual education

Key Projects: Texas Performance Review, Fraud Measurement Study and Texas School Performance Reviews

Linda Flores Denis is a member of TSPR. She participated in the Comal ISD and Killeen ISD reviews as well as the review of El Paso Community College; in addition, she served as co-manager of the San Antonio ISD review. Denis also participated in the Fraud Measurement Study mandated by the 1997 Legislature and contributed issues to TPR's Challenging the Status Quo report, working in areas including public education, classroom safety, early childhood issues and foster care.

Before joining the Comptroller's office, Denis was a school teacher in the New Braunfels school district.

Academic Background: Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, University of Texas at Austin.

Key Projects: Four Texas Performance Reviews and many Texas School Performance Reviews

Tina Holmes has 21 years of state government experience in functions ranging from editing tax returns and supervising accounts examiners to policy analysis and performance review. Holmes spent eight years in the agency's revenue divisions, five years in the Enforcement Division, and eight years with TPR and TSPR. At present, she is TSPR's senior analyst as well as its budget analyst, responsible for writing its business plans; preparing yearly and biennial budget requests; developing, reporting, and forecasting performance targets; and developing and maintaining job requirements.

While with TPR, Holmes has participated in the preparation of four major TPR reports as well as reviews of several individual state agencies. As TSPR's senior analyst, Holmes focuses on the areas of food service, district organization and management, human resources, community involvement and safety and security. Holmes has participated in 19 TSPR reviews as well as reviews of Texas Southern University and El Paso Community College.

Academic Background: Undergraduate study at Southwest Texas State University.

Sheryl Labar has more than three years of experience in the coordination of education-related projects. At present, she is coordinator for the Comptroller's Public Education Integrity Task Force.

Before joining the Comptroller, Labar worked in the Governor's Office, providing project management for the Governor's Reading Initiative and various education-related events at the Capitol and the Governor's Mansion, as well as reading summits conducted around Texas. In addition, Labar organized quarterly meetings for the Governor's Focus on Reading Task Force.

Academic Background: Bachelor of Business Administration in Management and Organizational Behavior, University of Houston.

Larry Laine has 28 years of experience in the private and public sectors. As one of the Comptroller's legislative liaisons, he has worked on legislation of interest to the Comptroller. He has been self-employed in real estate and farming and worked in the legislative branch of Texas government for the last four legislative sessions, serving as State Senator Jerry Patterson's chief of staff from January 1993 until January 1999. In this capacity, he was instrumental in the passage of legislation concerning home equity lending, the state's Coastal Management Plan, and veterans' homes.

Academic Background: Bachelor of Business Administration in Data Processing and Analysis, University of Texas at Austin; Masters of Business Administration in Finance, University of Texas at Austin.

James LeBas is an investment analyst for the Comptroller's Treasury Division, responsible for evaluating options for investing the proceeds from the state's successful tobacco settlement. Before holding this position, LeBas was manager of the Comptroller's Revenue Estimating Division. Prior to 1991, LeBas was a revenue analyst in Revenue Estimating, with primary responsibility for estimating revenues from the state's franchise tax.

LeBas worked in the Governor's Budget and Planning Office from 1991 until 1998, ultimately holding the position of group director for Fiscal Management. He assisted the 1995-96 Staff Working Group on Property Tax Relief, and subsequently provided support to the Citizen's Committee on Property Tax Relief, which toured the state in the summer of 1996 gathering public testimony on the tax system; he also assisted in the drafting of the 1997 Governor's plan to reduce property taxes.

Academic Background: Associate Degree in Legal Research with a minor in Accounting, San Antonio College, San Antonio; Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Southwest Texas State University; Masters in Public Administration, Southwest Texas State University.

Areas of Expertise: public administration strategic planning, policy development and performance measures

Mary McIntosh has more than 20 years of experience in finance and accounting. Over the last five years, she has worked in education administration, planning, and the development of quality measures.

Before joining the Comptroller's office, McIntosh was a resource for faculty at Southwest Texas State University in copyright information and research. She also developed and directed a service for faculty custom publishing and created performance standards. McIntosh was a member of a university team that developed 2000-2004 re-accreditation strategic planning documents.

Academic Background: Undergraduate study at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota and Stanford University, Palo Alto, California; Bachelor of Arts in American Studies, University of Texas at Austin; Masters in American Studies, University of Texas at Austin.

Key Projects: Texas Performance Reviews, Texas School Performance Reviews and review of Texas School for the Deaf

Gary Price has five years of experience in public education policy at the Comptroller's office. He has developed several TPR issues and written a number of articles for the Comptroller's Fiscal Notes newsletter. In addition, Price led the education teams during two major TPR reviews.

Price also has served on TSPR's contractor selection committee and reviewed numerous TSPR reports prior to publication. He consulted with TPR staff members during their review of the Texas School for the Deaf.

Before joining the Comptroller's office, Price was a member of the Legislative Education Board staff, where he contributed to several major school finance cost studies, and a staff member for the Texas House of Representative Committee on Public Education.

Academic Background: Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Andhra Christian College, Guntur, India; Masters in English Literature, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India; Masters in Library and Information Sciences, North Texas State University.

Key Projects: Texas School Performance Reviews and Texas Performance Reviews, including the review of the Public Utilities Commission

Mani Rao, currently assigned to TSPR, has more than 20 years of experience in state government. Her background includes fiscal analysis and performance review of state agencies and programs, forecasting of the state's cash flow, and overseeing budget issues affecting higher educational institutions. As a member of TPR, Rao worked on a number of projects in the areas of higher education and health and human services and was a team leader for TPR's review of the Public Utilities Commission. From the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, she worked for the Comptroller's office as a revenue estimator, specializing in the state's sales tax.

Before rejoining the Comptroller's office, Rao worked in the Governor's Budget and Planning Division, where she was responsible for policy and budget recommendations concerning the state's higher educational institutions. In addition, Rao was a member of the Governor's team that developed and implemented the state's strategic planning and performance-based budget system.

Academic Background: Bachelor of Arts in Inter-American Studies (Political Science and History), University of Texas at El Paso; Masters in Education, Curriculum and Instruction,

University of Wyoming.

Areas of Expertise: Higher education, health care benefits, international trade, transportation

Key Projects: Three Texas Performance Reviews, Regional Outlook reports and special industry reports

Augustín Redwine has more than 20 years of experience in program analysis and performance review in Texas state government. Since 1992, Redwine has researched and analyzed a wide variety of issues in his areas of expertise for the Comptroller's office, contributing to the Comptroller's Regional Outlook reports, Special Industry Reports, Fiscal Notes, and three major TPR reports.

Before joining the Comptroller's office, Redwine was a research analyst at the Texas Research League, a nonprofit governmental research organization, participating in research projects that developed recommendations for improving the operations and programs of local and state government agencies, court administration, higher education policy, public education and health and human services programs.

Ruth M. Rosado

Academic Background: Undergraduate study in computer science, University of Puerto Rico.

Area of Expertise: Computer information systems

Ruth Rosado has 12 years of experience in computer information systems, including the development, enhancement and maintenance of computer applications; the preparation of statistical reports and "Webmaster" functions.

Before joining the Comptroller's office, Rosado was a systems analyst in the Office of the Attorney General's Child Support Division, responsible for the division's Web page and the generation of ad hoc reports.

Andrew Ruth

Academic Background: Bachelor of Arts in English literature, University of Texas at Austin; Masters in English Literature, University of Texas at Austin; Ph. D. in English literature, University of Rochester.

Areas of Expertise: Public education, energy and public utility regulation

Key Projects: Texas School Performance Reviews

Ruth has 20 years of experience in Texas state government and serves on the staff of the Comptroller's TSPR team, assisting in management and performance reviews of the state's public school districts. He is project manager for the ongoing Austin Independent School District review, which begins in October 1999.

Before joining the Comptroller's office, Ruth worked at the Texas Railroad Commission, serving in that agency's Oil and Gas and Gas Utility divisions; Public Information Office; and Office of Research and Statistical Analysis.

J. Byron Schlomach

Academic Background: Bachelor of Science in Economics, Texas A&M University; Ph.D. in Economics, Texas A&M University.

Areas of Expertise: Public education, transportation and economic analysis

Byron Schlomach has 13 years of professional experience as a college instructor, adviser, legislative aide, and policy analyst. A recent addition to the Comptroller's staff, Schlomach is involved in several ongoing projects, including a performance review of the Texas Department of Transportation and a study of growth in the state's budget.

Before joining the Comptroller's office, Schlomach worked for five years as a legislative aide for State Representative Kent Grusendorf. In this capacity, he gained a great deal of knowledge of public education policy. Prior to his public-sector experience, Schlomach taught economics at various institutions of higher education including Texas A&M University, where he also acted as undergraduate adviser for the Texas A&M Economics Department.

Roger Vallejo

Academic Background: Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, the University of Texas at Austin; Masters in Urban Studies, Trinity University.

Areas of Expertise: Education, state employee issues and tax and budget issues

Key Projects: Texas Performance Reviews, Texas School Performance Reviews

Roger Vallejo has more than 27 years of public policy and research experience, both with the Comptroller's office and the federal government. Vallejo was supervisor of a Comptroller research team for more than 10 years and subsequently worked with both TPR and TSPR. Vallejo has authored several TPR issues dealing with regulatory reform and the state workforce, and has participated in dozens of projects covering many financial and policy aspects of state government.

Before joining the Comptroller's office, Vallejo was a research analyst for the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, where he worked on education, corrections and health issues.

Jeff Van Pelt

Academic Background: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and History, the University of Texas at Austin.

Areas of Expertise: Purchasing; computers and technology

Key Projects: Texas Performance Review and Texas School Performance Reviews

Jeff Van Pelt has 17 years of experience with the Comptroller's office and has served in a variety of roles including procurement analyst, supervisor, manager, policy analyst, project manager and contract negotiator. Van Pelt has extensive negotiation and procurement experience and has managed numerous multimillion-dollar information technology purchases. Since early 1999, Van Pelt has been assigned to TSPR, where he has participated in the reviews of the El Paso, Comal, and Killeen school districts, and is working on the El Paso Community College review. He also is project manager of the school "best practices" database project.

While an analyst with TPR, Van Pelt developed issues including agency software management; contingency planning for Year 2000 embedded systems failures; catalog purchase methods; information technology use by Texas Correctional Industries; and consolidation of the information resources of health agencies.

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