FISD Board of
Trustees Regular Meeting
October 14, 2013 5:45
PM
FISD Headquarters
I have attempted to report things as I saw them happen. If I was completely editorializing I have marked my ideas with italics and purple text. Again, I encourage anyone reading this to take my writings for what they are worth and if you have questions PLEASE ask! Be part of the truth tellers not the rumor mill!
For those who don't know our story please keep
in mind that my family has only been in the area for 5.5 years. When we arrived in Texas we came to Frisco for a
multitude of reasons but one of the most compelling was the school system. The
idea of the neighborhood school being 4 blocks away was charming and convenient
and the expected quality would be high based on indicators found on-line and during our
visit to campus during our home buying tour.
At the time that we moved I was looking solely at the elementary
experience. I admit perhaps I was
shortsighted. All the same, we jumped in
and had some good years at Ashley. Our
second year here my oldest son would be going to Roach Middle School. The school was a few years old at the time
and our experience has been fairly typical.
When we arrived Heritage was under construction but I paid little
attention to the rezoning process and where the first group of Coyotes came
from. This is the first time that
rezoning in Frisco would impact my kids, my family directly. I needed to see it and understand it in order
to accept it.
The meeting was called to order and the very first item
of business was the preview of the zoning discussion for Independence HS. Mr. Wilkinson jumped right in an presented
the Rezoning Goals and Considerations.
Priority #1 this time around would have to be relieving the numbers at
the three existing HSs. Other items
included
- Effective utilization of space
- Stability of students
- Neighborhood Schools
- Maintaining Diversity
- Promoting Unity
Further explanations of these items are available in the
formal presentation materials linked below.
The first map showed the student projections for 2014 and
2015 if there were no rezoning.
Heritage 2014-2298 students 2015-2606 students
Centennial 2014-2253
students 2015-2302 students
Liberty 2014-2532
students 2015-2900 students
All present were reminded that the current building are
designed to hold 2100 students. Without
Independence HS all three schools would be over capacity next year (some are
now) and that has a HUGE impact on day to day HS experiences educationaly and socially not to mention safety and logisitcs.
The plan to open Independence HS is to open it with 9th,
10th and 11th graders to have a larger impact on
overall numbers.
The new map was revealed and the lines were pretty much
where all the rumors said they might be.
I quickly identified that our subdivision and saw that we would be moved to Independence
and would be joined by what looked like all of the McKinney area to the east
(Scoggins MS) and reached down to Richwoods to the south. There is a large segment of the zone that is
void of houses but certainly has the potential to be developed at any time.
Once the map was shown the Board brought forth concerns
about getting the schools right back to 2100 students in no time at all. There was a mention of the anomaly of a
couple of subdivisions that grew at a much more rapid pace than originally
expected. I believe they are talking
about Richwoods and Lawler Park. What
all of this means is that the likelihood is HIGH that the 9th FISD
HS will need to be built on the East side of Frisco and specifically in this
general area again. What that also means
is that kids who are getting shuffled to Independence may get shuffled once
again before they see the dust settle.
My
personal projection would say that if it is recognized that HS 9 needs to be
built quickly they could get that started by summer 2014 for an open summer
2016. If they kept to the plan of
opening HSs on even years with 9, 10 and 11th grades then in 2016
there could be kids who started their freshman year at any of these 4 area
schools who could be shifted yet again depending on placement of HS 9. So not really shifted again, since the
starting Juniors would have graduated in spring of 2016 but a freshman may not
graduate from Independence. That sounds
a little confusing. I may need to draw a diagram to better understand the
potential there.
The only way to allow for consistent overcrowding at the
impacted schools would be the use of portables on all campuses. However spaces like the lunch room,
restrooms, theatre and gym are still built based on the 2100 student model.
The Board asked a few questions about potential
developments on open land areas and a clarification question was asked about
the magic number to stay 4A within UIL and when those numbers are
reported. The answer is 2050 and they
report numbers in the odd numbered year.
The Board then wrapped up that portion of the meeting and
moved along to item 1. B. which was handled quickly and related to Board
operating procedures.
The Board then took a recess for dinner and a closed
session where personnel and student matters were discussed in private.
Just about 7:30 the Board reconvened to a much larger
public audience. I witnessed a few people
submit the form required to make comments to the Board during that portion of
the agenda.
Once the pledges were completed and a PRAYER was said
they jumped right in to public comments. (I was feeling such relief that an invocation was spoken and guidance from above was requested. AMEN!)
First up… Susan Thomas – FISD Council of PTAs President –
She came bearing gifts for the Board members of official Council t-shirts. She
proceeded to update them on some details of our council which includes 46 local
PTAs and her Board of 20 members. She
reported that last year there were more than 16,000 PTA members in our schools.
Nearly 200 local PTA leaders attended SLS in Dallas and many received awards
for outstanding programs and such. The theme for 2013-2014 is “Be Your Kid’s
Biggest Fan! Be PTA.” She wrapped up by
sharing the goals of the Board for this year.
Second speaker was Lisa Elliott – citizen and called herself
a former employee. She spoke
passionately about the Public Information Request process and suggested in her
comments that the Board was not responding adequately to all requests and that
formal complaints had been taken to the TX Attorney General’s Office. I did not completely understand her personal
issue but I certainly hope the Board knew what she was talking about.
Third speaker was Darren Fleece and his daughter Cassidy –
citizens who live in Cypress Creek sub.
Darren expressed his concern about HS 9 on the East side and the
reshifting of students AGAIN. He felt
that possibility even existed that a student taken from a school could
potentially get switched back and is concerned about that. He felt that FISD employees should be able to
send their kids to ANY school in the district not only those that fit the
feeder pattern for the school where they worked.
Fourth up were Will and Matthew Sowell – citizens also
from Cypress Creek They reminded the Board
of the neighborhood school model and how developing prode and community is so
hard when shifts like this occur.
Matthew had been taught from a young age that he was a “little Titan”
and now won’t be a Titan when he graduates.
Will implored the Board to figure out a way to not split middle schools
when feeding to HS. Matthew said he
would not leave his team behind. “Leave no doubt.”
Last up was Myra Diaz – FISD Library Employee who brought
a student tell named Christian to address the Board. He told a great story and she went on to talk
about the 10th annual Storytelling Festival taking place this
weekend. 4400 4th graders
will attend the festival at Dr. Pepper center on Friday.
The meeting then continued along with item E. Consent
Agenda which was approved.
Item F. Authorizing the issuance of unlimited tax bonds
also approved.
Then item G. Report on our Financial Integrity Rating System
of Texas (FIRST) report was shared and the district was provided a Superior
Rating. I honestly didn’t understand about
95% of this but the presenter did a great job of getting through the material
and the outcome was good.
Next up on the agenda was a presentation of interior
design and material elements for Reedy HS.
School colors will be Green and Blue and those colors can be seen
throughout the Board. Nice neutral
natural look in my opinion.
Item I took us back to discussion of the Board on the
zone lines. The public comment section
was over so this was just among the Board members and FISD staff. Dr. Lyon began by acknowledging the intensity
of this process. He highlighted that with each new school comes new legacies
and programs but the ISD is very deliberate in their strategy and commitment to
the small school concept. Because of
this plan early on rezoning is a part of the fabric of our community. The commitment to the model back in the 90’s
has been a hugely successful experience for FISD. Dr. Lyon took some time to introduce some
staff who have worked long and hard on this project. Internal demographers, deputy superintendent,
communications, external demographer (PASA), parents, community members and the
Board will impact this decision.
According to Dr. Lyon in 1996 we had 5 schools in
FISD. Today we have 56. In 17 years 51 lines have been redrawn. That is an average of three schools per year
in that time frame. "Unheard of," is the phrase that came to my mind.
Mr. Wilkinson acknowledged that this is not an easy
process and it is open for input until the decision is made final. He reviewed
the rezoning goals and considerations again and the map that shows what would
happen if Independence never opened. He
did mention that if you left any of the seemingly small neighbors that are
slated to be pulled from Centennial they would be over capacity AND would move
to 5A UIL rating. The Board is committed
to relief first and foremost. Trustee
John Hoxie asked what the ISD does to keep the same DNA at each of these new HS. A few staff members responded with
information about how equity and continuity are king at a time like this. Additionally HR works diligently with a model
that provides a minimum of 33% of staff at the new school is transferred from
other FISD schools. They understand that
model and goals of the district and often know a number of the students. Close attention is paid to equity of
facilities and surroundings down to the number of seat in an auditorium. New schools are certainly newer but not
necessarily “bigger and better.” Curriculum is standardized across the district
as well so that all Freshmen English students are learning the same material no
matter what school they attend.
Concern was brought forth about the possibility of immediate
overcrowding at Liberty based on some vacant land that has the potential to be
developed.
Shana Wortham will be sending notes to the Board
regularly regarding public feedback. All Board members will receive all
comments. She will also post some FAQ
type information on the website along with any new materials. She will post a document that is already
available to the Board which shows what a shift would look with only 9th
and 10th grades.
No one can predict growth zones 100%. To that end they can only do the best they
can based on the information and projections.
It is a gamble.
Renee Ehmke, Board president, did say that every member
of the Board and the staff is cognizant of the fact that kids and families are
attached to every number.
And
with that there was a large exodus of most of the community and the Board
continued. A few interesting items were
talked about and presented so I’m going to tell you about that too. Feel free to stop if you don’t care about all
of the fine points of running a district with over 45,000 students.
Item K involved reports from different support
teams.
Curriculum spoke about Active Learning Classrooms that
are scattered throughout the district on all grade levels.
Business services showed where we can find materials
about the next bond package. Support
Services informed the Board that the Child Nutrition program will be reviewed
in February of 2014 for 3 days. I believe
this is a review by the USDA and/or Texas Department of Agriculture. He also mentioned that the ISD put the word
out to police officers in the communities where we have schools, (Frisco,
Plano, McKinney, Little Elm) the they were welcome to come and eat lunch in our
cafeterias any day. The thought was that
a few might and the response as of the 29th day of school was that
208 officers had come for lunch. That is
a great opportunity for the kids, staff and officers to mingle.
Communications reported on the Fun Run coming up in two
weeks and the Community Parade taking place November 9th. The Board will be driven and will be handing
out candy healthy snacks. HR reported that 59 staff members will be
attending a documentation workshop at the training center this Friday. Student
Services mentioned that the expectation is that multiple HS bands should be
competitive to progress in the State 4A UIL Marching competition this year.
Technology reported that October is Cyber Security
Awareness month. The plan is for
students in grades 6-12 will have some lessons on Digital Citizenship this
month. There are multiple ways to
complete the lesson and the details are being left up to the campuses.
Administrative Operations reported on the success of offering
centralized summer registration for elementary students this past summer. Over 600 students were enrolled which allowed
for a greater preparedness for space, staff etc. They plan to look at the program to see if
they can expend next summer to include basic intake for MS and HS
students. The challenge is their needing
to select specific classes but perhaps a majority of the process could be done
ahead of time.
Final item was from the Superintendent. He announced that
a Student travel guideline committee had been convened to make formal
recommendations and oprating guidelines in place about student travel. Because we want our students to have a chance
to travel, to compete, investigate and experience things outside of their
school we need to put guidelines in writing with specific rules and the dos and
don’ts of student travel.
Meeting was adjourned shortly after 9.
Now that the materials are out there for the public to see I am sure the chatter will pick up. I am prepared to have the conversation at my house about the impact it will have on Nic and Will along with their friends and classmates. I'll be posting more about that in the coming days I'm sure.
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