DALLAS (KRLD) - In addition to being a mayor, Steve Horelica is also a fifth-grade teacher in the Devers ISD in Southeast Texas. As the mayor of Devers, Texas, Horelica is on a mission to get rid of the STAAR test.
Horelica says the standardized test was created for white, middle class or higher native English speaking children.
"So if you're anything other than that, learning disabled, dyslexic or of another race or any other race, before you even start you are at a disadvantage."
He says the test is not helpful in the process of educating kids.
"We tend to care more about end of the year test scores than we care about their growth or about individually what they need as a student to get better."
And he notes this proclamation is symbolic only.
"The peaceful act, the protest, the disobedience during the civil rights movement, it brought attention to the fact that something was wrong and needed to change. I and figured that maybe as mayor, issuing this proclamation maybe I could light a spark under people to actually do something."
There are 180 kids in the Dever ISD, which runs from Pre-K through 8th grade. The proclamation would only apply to Dever ISD.