Board approves grant that will add muscle
in fighting internet crimes against children

The Pasadena ISD Police Department has made a positive impact when it comes to cracking down on internet crimes against children, making over 20 arrests in the past year. And now, its impact will be even greater.

The department was recently awarded a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to establish an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force responsible for responding to online child exploitation in Texas. Pasadena ISD is the only school district police force in the nation that has been awarded the grant.

“This grant will give us the additional resources we need in fighting this ongoing problem and bring these offenders to justice,” said Pasadena ISD Detective Matthew Gray.

Gray has led the efforts behind the many internet crime stings conducted by the department over the past year, in addition to performing various other duties for the department. The grant will now enable him to exclusively focus all of his attention on investigating internet crimes against children, as he serves as the lead investigator for the Southern Texas ICAC unit. Pasadena ISD will work with other Harris County agencies and the National Center for Exploited Children as they investigate those who prey on children using technology and the internet.

The ICAC task force program is a national network of 59 multi-agency law enforcement organizations that investigate such crimes. The program was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the internet, the proliferation of child pornography and the heightened online activity by sexual predators searching for illicit contact with underage victims.

“When investigating online child predators, the one thing that I always keep in mind is that there is always a ‘live’ victim somewhere,” Gray said. “We then use the information we have to capture their offender and take them offline and off the streets.”

Gray said one of the main tools in combating these internet crimes is education. “Information is a powerful tool,” he said. “One of the goals of this task force is to give presentations to principals, students, parents and community members. By knowing the dangers and how these predators attempt to manipulate the system, it is an extra resource to ensure the safety of our young people.”

In addition, Gray stressed that anyone who suspects internet crimes taking place against children are encouraged to use “cyber tip-lines,” which are linked to law enforcement agencies, who will then investigate the alleged activity.

“We want to make sure the public is well-informed about these crimes,” Gray said. “We will aggressively investigate these cases to the fullest extent of the law.”

Ruth Rabago named Pomeroy principal

In a sense, Ruth Rabago is heading back “home” as the newly appointed principal of Pomeroy Elementary.

Rabago served as an assistant principal at Pomeroy from 2000-2003 under the guidance of then-principal Susan Blalock. She said she has always held a special place in her heart for the campus.

“It was my first administrative job and the relationships with the students, parents and teachers created a huge family atmosphere,” she said. “As principal, it will be just like coming home again.”

In Rabago’s new position, she will replace Liz Ortiz, who was recently named principal of North Central Middle School, which will open next fall.

Since 2004, Rabago has served with Blalock once again as assistant principal at Morris Fifth Grade Center. Rabago credits Blalock for helping prepare her to lead her own campus. “Susan is my mentor and a great principal,” she said. “I owe so much to her. I will never forget her.”

Rabago began her teaching career in 1996 in the Lufkin-Nacogdoches area, before coming to Garfield Elementary as a peer facilitator in 1998. She was then promoted as assistant principal at Pomeroy in 2000 and left the district in 2003 and served a short stint as a bilingual teacher in Nacogdoches ISD. She returned to the district in November 2003 as an assistant principal at Jessup Elementary. Rabago received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stephen F. Austin State University.

Rabago and her husband Joe (assistant principal at Miller Intermediate) have three children, Emmah, 5, Ellie, 2, and Tre, 7 months.

CenterPoint awards $126,000 to district
for energy conservation efforts

CenterPoint Energy awarded Pasadena ISD $126,345.75 for energy efficient building upgrades implemented in 2006 through the Schools Conserving Resources (SCORE) Program. The award was presented district’s regular January meeting of the Board of Trustees.

The SCORE Program is a pilot program offered through CenterPoint Energy to a limited number of school districts to help improve energy efficiency and reduce school’s energy operating costs. ClearResult Consulting is implementing the program for CenterPoint Energy.

Incentives are paid by CenterPoint Energy at $185 per peak kilowatt of energy saved. The Public Utility Commission of Texas provides the mechanism for calculating energy savings achieved. The district is awarded an incentive check when projects are finished and the new equipment is inspected.

“The incentives were an encouraging factor but the actual motivation for our effort is the money we will be saving on future utility bills,” said Tom Swan, Pasadena ISD’s executive director of special projects.

Pasadena ISD joined the SCORE Program in June 2006. Since then, the district has made a committed effort to identify and implement energy saving measures. With assistance provided through the SCORE Program Pasadena ISD identified the district’s facilities with the most energy-saving potential. They also developed a master plan so that the best approach toward reducing the district’s energy bills could be taken.

“The SCORE Program has helped our district save money and we have been able to advance our students’ learning environments. We were surprised to find so many opportunities to save energy and ultimately money. We are beginning to fully recognize the importance and benefit of reducing our energy use,” Pasadena ISD Associate Superintendent of Facilities and Construction Julian Garcia said

The SCORE Program helps the district by facilitating a focused look at what it can do to use energy most efficiently. In order to achieve the incentive earning goals, the program involved administrators at all levels in the decision making process. The SCORE Program helps the district’s Financial Department understand that sometimes spending more in the design and construction phase of a project can lead to a bigger payback in the utility savings for years to come.

"This aspect of the program is important because it gives us the opportunity to calculate the lifelong cost of the equipment and helps us plan for rising energy costs,” said Tom Douglas, the district’s director of maintenance.

“CenterPoint is working to encourage and help our communities conserve energy. We are excited to make Pasadena ISD a part of our efforts” said Gary Shadwell, SCORE Program Manager for CenterPoint Energy.

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