>> if you're ready. [noise].
>> time is 5:30, and I'm going to call tonight's workshop of the board of trustees
of the coppell independent school district into session. First thing we need to do is establish a quorum.
we'll start to my right, trustee anthony hill, trustee ranna raval,
trustee jobby mathew, trustee nichole bentley, trustee manish sethi, trustee leigh walker and myself.
we do have a quorum and every member is present. That will take us into our open forum.
as I mentioned earlier, we do have quite a few signed up to speak tonight.
just as we have in the past, if you were here last week. Thank you.
you guys have as a community, always been kind and gracious and very respectful and not only your comments,
but while other people are speaking. Thank you for that and just I ask that we keep that up as we go through tonight.
just a couple of reminders when it's your turn. We're going to call five at a time and line up along that half wall,
and we're going to do that since we do have quite a few that are signed up to speak also out in the lobby and just
make sure they have time to hear names and make their way up to this room as well.
but just a reminder when you are at the podium, if you'll address the board,
not the audience, we'll ask that only those that we have called be out at a time,
just since there is quite a few were at capacity and making sure that we keep safety and security top of mind of everybody and then,
as we always do, just ask no disruptions. Clapping, booing, cheering, whatever.
at the end, I'll give you all a moment. You're going to hear some things you agree with, some that you don't.
just remember you may feel one way and somebody sitting next to you may feel the other.
we want to be respectful of everybody. Before we get started,
now y'all can bear with me while I read our opening statement, and then I'll go through our first five names.
the board encourages comments about the coppell independent school district from citizens of the district,
its employees, or from other members of the public. Anyone who has signed up to speak in advance of the meeting
in accordance with board policy and procedures may do so at this time. The board asked that each participant's comments pertain
to public education and be no longer than one minute. Remember that pursuant to the texas open meetings act,
during special meetings or board workshops such as this, public comment is limited to agenda items only.
the board may not discuss or act upon any issues that are not posted on our agenda.
in addition, the board has adopted complaint policies that are designed to secure at
the lowest administrative level a prompt and equitable resolution of complaints and concerns.
complaints brought by employees may be heard in accordance with policies dgba legal and dgba local,
by students or their parents in accordance with policies f&g legal and f&g local,
and by citizens in accordance with policies gf legal and gf local and those policies are on the website,
if you ever want to look those up. Each of these processes provides that if
a resolution cannot be achieved administratively, the person may appeal the administrative decision to
the board as a properly posted agenda item. I got out of order,
but copies of the district policies and procedures on public participation in meetings and filing
complaints are available online on the coppell isd website, which is coppellisd.com.
with that, let me just go ahead and apologize now.
I'm not always the best pronunciator, so I'll do my best to get your names right,
but if I happen to misspeak or say it wrong, just go ahead and I'll ask for your forgiveness now up front.
our first speaker will be philippe fruge, followed by stella farinacci, thank you.
see, I'm already off to a start. Heather woodard, woodard will be our third,
juan rolan will be our fourth, and then emily blanton, you'll be number five in line.
as I said earlier, sorry, for those that didn't hear. When you come to the podium, if you'll just state your name and address,
your time will start after you say your name and address. Then our timekeeper, I should say is our board secretary,
jobby mathew, and he's got a timer going and does have some paddles to wave with the time.
>> I know, sometimes it's head down and you're not really paying attention to me up here or to us all,
gently remind you at time if you don't hear the timer is well about time. I appreciate it.
>> do I start? >> you can start. >> philippe fruge, 402 brooks lane.
hello, dr. Hunt and esteem board members. My name is philippe fruge,
and I'm a fourth grader at wilson elementary. I would like the dli program to remain at wilson.
the teachers at wilson are so special. They have taught me how to learn in english and in spanish. Wilson is my home.
[spanish]
if you take dli away from wilson, you're taking wilson away from wilson.
>> thank you, and stella. >> stella farinacci 10763 canoe drive.
good afternoon, dr. Hunt and board. My name is stella farinacci, and I'm a fourth grader at wilson.
this is my fifth year at wilson being in the dli program. I'm here today to say why I think dli should stay at wilson elementary.
my brother graduated from wilson and I really enjoy having the same experience as him.
I also have a lot of friends outside of dli and teachers such as mr. Hanson and miss kenti who have been a really important part of my experience at wilson.
dli is not just a program at wilson, dli is wilson. If you take away dli at wilson, you change wilson.
thank you for your time and I hope you can consider keeping dli at wilson.
>> thank you. Heather woodard.
>> I'm heather woodard. I live at 722 meadowglen circle.
I'm here today to speak about pinkerton making a difference for my child since she transferred here.
pinkerton has been a wonderful school for us. The staff goes above and beyond to help the students.
my autistic child has become a different person since coming to pinkerton.
she is happier and more positive. She is getting her work done. She is more vocal with us.
she is sharing and open and no longer speaks negatively of herself. Instead of saying, mommy, I'm so stupid.
she says, mommy, I'm a smart cookie. Instead of asking mommy, why does everyone hate me?
she says, I had fun with my friends today. Instead of saying, mommy, I can't do it.
she says, mommy, I'm trying. That is all thanks to pinkerton and the staff there who actually care about her.
please don't close the doors to pinkerton. Please don't close the doors to my daughter when it has just
barely opened for her. Thank you. >> thank you, heather. Juan, you'll be up next and then
I'm going to go ahead and call becca bailey, ashley ballesteros, and julie waters will be our next.
>> my name is juan gabriel rolon. I'm all resident by addresses 303 fairview court.
dear board members, and dr. Hunt. Thank you for all you do for the school district.
I am a wilson ranger. We lead the way. I stand before you to address the proposed changes to our dli program.
the program enriches our children, not just because of bilingualism, but also due to the diverse and inclusive setting they are immersed in.
moving the program from wilson will disrupt a unique, diverse, and inclusive community that has tried for nearly a decade.
most dli families that live close to wilson campus will face significant challenges with the proposed change
and may decide to stay in wilson and leave the dli program. We feel that this change may be the start
of the end of the dli program in our school district. What assurances do we have that the program will continue for years to come?
what about our wilson teachers and principal? We understand that cold numbers are driving the options being presented,
but those affected by them are our children. You know, we don't think of them as a statistic.
see them for who they are. We urge you to keep all for schools open and keep
the dli programs at wilson and denton creek. Thank you. >> thank you. Julie I should have said your kids, joshua,
daniel and juliet will be right after you two, she can take them with you. Go ahead. Sorry.
>> hi. Good evening. My name is emily blanton, and I reside at 846 meadowglen circle. Good evening.
my family has been in coppell isd for the past 30 years and I currently have a seventh grader at north,
a first grader in the dli program at denton creek, and hopefully an incoming kindergartner this next school year.
I initially enrolled my oldest in the program in an attempt to challenge his active brain.
after being in the program for eight years, I have learned that we gained so much more.
this program creates a family environment where we rely on each other. To learn and to understand.
we have gained a culture and the opportunity to expand who we are able to engage with.
I believe that any disruption to the dli program would prove to be detrimental to those it serves.
this change would affect two title 1 campuses that have economically disadvantaged families in attendance.
you would be moving children in lower income homes to a school across town and would add additional strain for them.
this would also add additional transportation costs for the district.
we must also consider what this would mean for students in home early by the nurse. Thank you.
>> thank you, emily. Ms. Becca. >> rebecca bailey, I'm at 600 meadowview circle here in coppell.
first, I'd like to thank each of you for handling our budget challenges caused by underfunding from the state.
as an austin alumni, parent, and pto president. Tonight, I'd like to talk specifically about our location.
austin is located in the middle of a residential neighborhood. So much so that 33% of our zone students walk or ride their bikes to school.
this has become part of our identity as a campus. Drop off and pickup are where we see community connections being made.
if austin is consolidated, our families will be dispersed to campuses across hazardous traffic conditions.
by doing so, you're asking our families to change the culture of how we do school and community.
in addition, our campus location offers an opportunity for future growth.
it is ideally positioned within the district to receive students from irving.
austin is currently around 90% capacity. This still leaves around 60 seats available for future learners should it be needed.
thank you for hearing our stories, and we trust that you'll make the best decision for cisd as a whole.
>> thank you, becca. Ashley, you are up next,
and then enida pedro you'll go after ms. Waters and her family.
>> hello. My name is ashley ballesteros. I'm at 350 kyra court,
and I'm a wilson ranger. Five years ago, my husband and I moved to coppell for its highly rated school district.
in particular, the dual language program at wilson. Since then, both our girls, sophia and emily,
have actively participated in this amazing school, which promotes inclusivity and diversity.
the dual language program is successful because both bilingual and monolingual students
learn from each other and they immerse in each other's culture. See, if you consolidate or you segregate all the bilingual students to one campus,
you'll take away the immersing part of this program. Segregate. Yeah. I said it.
as I was writing this speech, I thought to myself, racial segregation, school closures.
how is this the same coppell that five years ago, I sought so eagerly to join.
now, as a cpa, I get it. For the first time ever,
this community will actually realize the financial deficit. However, our bilingual learners are worth way more than a budget cut.
let's work together to find a solution. Please keep dli at wilson. >> thank you, ashley. Julie?
>> my name is julie waters, and I live at 252 east bethel.
board members, I appreciate all of you today and the difficult decision that lays ahead.
as a pinkerton parent, I am here to appeal to you today on behalf of all school.
before you make a decision on school closures, give parents a chance to fight the state legislature.
the texas legislature resumes in less than four months, january 2025,
give parents a chance to come together and ask them for money that our schools desperately need.
please don't make a decision before having all of the facts. What if they release the funding?
then we won't have a deficit and you won't need to close a school. If they don't release the fund,
then maybe you need to close more than one school. Don't make parents suffer through two consecutive years of school closures and rezoning.
if we have to close a school or two, let's do it the right way and do it once.
but please don't make a decision before you get all of the facts. If you close a school now,
there is no incentive for coppell parents to advocate for school funding in austin.
>> time, julie. >> one more year. That's all that I'm asking for. Let the people of coppell truly unite and go to austin.
>> time.
>> my name is daniel waters,
and I'm in second grade. I live in east bethel road.
I want you to keep our school open because all my friends are
there and if I go to a new school and I'll be different.
I really want to finish fifth and do the stuff my brother is and my brother is learning.
>> hello. My name is joshua waters, and I live at 252 east bethel road.
I don't want you to close my school because then I won't get to see my friends every day,
I'll miss my teachers. Also, if I go to a new school and I'm in fifth grade,
then I won't be familiar with the school around me.
so the second graders might know more about the school than I do.
also, I want my brother and my sister to have the same experience that I have.
>> juliet is not speaking. Dr. Pedro, could you give me one second real quick?
I'm going to call up sanbi, is it vupala?
and then sweta gunda and
ratana vupala. You can go ahead. Thank you.
>> need pad 241 magnolia drive. Moving the dli program from wilson directly impacts the largest hispanic,
spanish speaking and low socioeconomic population in our district. English language learners, special education students,
and low income families already have enough barriers in their academic life. The proposed changes multiplies those barriers instead of alleviating them.
the group of parents are the ones who have the most to lose if they speak up against these changes.
how have we protected them as one of the most vulnerable student groups in our district?
to not build options from a place of minimizing impact on those furest from opportunity is to turn
a blind eye to our responsibility of ensuring access to a high quality education for every child.
our spanish speaking students are worthy of being prioritized because fairness is not equal.
hispanic bilingual students like my sophia deserve to be valued and barriers to her educational progress removed instead of added.
like another 100 families, we would deny the dli program and stay close to home.
how is this in the best interest of an underserved community? Thank you.
>> good evening, all. My name is san vu palla and I'm in third grade at austin elementary.
I don't want the school to shut down because all my friends there,
I don't know which school they'll transfer to, and then I'll miss them so much because I won't get to play with them.
also, all my kind teachers, our memories will be gone.
if the school doesn't stay because the teachers might transfer to a school that that's not your school.
the teachers that are very kind. If the school stays,
the teachers will stay there, and also all our friends are very kind and
helpful and we don't want to lose those kind friends that always stay by our side.
>> thank you. Go ahead. You can finish. Sorry. They mean to cut you off.
before you start, go ahead and call it meghan hope, jennifer bunting, and jackie taves.
>> good evening all. I'm sha gunda, a resident of 1368 away,
close to austin elementary. As a proud parent of two daughters who are in elementary and high school,
who have had the privilege to attend austin. I'm deeply troubled by the potential shutdown of austin.
I have seen how austin has fostered a love for learning in my daughters.
my elder one flourished under the nurturing environment of austin.
my younger one is currently enjoying her learning journey in the very same school which she loves and ados.
thank you, hall, and I hope you can keep austin.
>> good evening, everyone. My name is ratavo pala, 1368 otter way, south aven community.
I'm here today to speak on behalf of austin elementary community.
and here, my family already spoke about [inaudible].
the most important thing that I want to add here is austin is being as part of my family for last seven years,
and it's one thing that is keeping connecting our family every day.
that's our dinner topic, what happened at school, who is this teacher. My high school kid is still talking to us,
and that's a one point that we use. We considered austin is not just a school,
it's a part of our family, and we don't want to lose it. I know there are a lot of numbers crunch that you guys have done,
and we all would like to know the rubric or logic behind that.
and we all are here to support. Make sure that there are no cisd schools go do.
and we have moved to south aven committee five years ago.
I also convinced a lot of my friends to come in. They left their previous schools,
they left their charter schools. Now we don't want to go them back to, and then nobody's going to get benefit if they go back to
charter schools or move out of coal. Please consider it. Thank you. Alicia mcgurk,
you will be followed by niko nuri. Hopefully, I said that right.
>> hi, meghan hope, 524 brier glen drive.
thank you to the board for helping us navigate this challenging decision.
in addition to having a kindergartner and a second grader at austin elementary,
I work in higher education. I spend my time teaching at the rank of associate professor and directing graduate academic programs.
I have taught and mentored hundreds of adult learners since 2017.
I have observed that learners need more than academic rigor to succeed in higher education.
instead, the most well rounded learners have developed strong social and emotional intelligence
and have a village to support and foster their unique gifts. Separating over 500 children across four campuses while losing
neighborhood support will negatively affect young children and their families during this transformative time in their lives.
I recognize that these are challenging decisions. However, I urge you to prioritize the children's social and emotional intelligence and
anything that and prioritize this above your other criteria. Thank you.
>> jen.
>> my name is jennifer bunting. I live at 130 nach trace.
first of all, thank you to the board and dr. Hunt for all of the hours you're putting in,
this is an impossible decision you guys have to make and I know we're going to support you in whatever happens,
but thank you for everything. With that said, it's no secret. I'm passionate about new tech haya kapel for many reasons.
it is a place that has taught my two girls confidence, perseverance, leadership, and belonging in a way that I know they would never have gotten anywhere else.
as I've seen over the last six years, it's also a place where everyone is accepted and can feel
like they are part of a team and that team can make a difference. One of my biggest worries in the world today is
mental health for secondary and college age kids. I'm worried that if a place like new tech,
a safe environment, for so many, there will be nowhere for the kids to go where they feel they can
belong and learn in a lower pressure learning environment. The project based learning curriculum teaches actual life skills
that are needed to cope with whatever challenges they face in life. There's no doubt that new tech is a necessary option in coppell,
and there really isn't a way to put a price on something like that. Thank you. >> thank you. I'm going to go ahead call up judy barbo and ella price,
you'll be the next two in line. >> good evening. My name is jackie taves.
I live at 602 madison street and coppell, and my son is currently a fourth grade monolingo student at denton creek elementary,
I'd like to address how the consolidation of copels dli programs could affect our family personally.
my son began as a kindergartner at denton creek elementary in the fall of 2020.
due to covid, my son and his classmates were faced with a daunting task of walking into their first day of big kids school alone.
however, thankfully, because of denton creek's faculty and staff,
our children were not alone. Over the years, this community has become
a trusted environment for not only my son, but our family. Now, we are once again being faced with a daunting task.
the possibility of uprooting our children from dc's trusted community,
a school that isn't with walking distance of my home, and what will be for my son,
his fifth grade and final year of elementary school. I ask the board to please consider my family situation,
along with the far reaching ramifications of consolidating the dli programs.
thank you for your time and consideration. >> alicia.
>> alicia mcgurk, 25 plus year resident of 634 han crest lane.
I'm alicia mcgurk, former educator, administrator, and professional volunteer in csd for over 25 years.
I am also an austin resident. My kids went to austin elementary, and every school in coppell is a great school.
we all love it. We love the programs. That's why we're all here. We have great teachers, administrators, it could go on forever.
however, the bottom line is we're here for money. We are here to shut a school down because of money.
as it is, it's not our fault it's not their fault, it's the state's fault. I want you to focus on the money and not to forget that.
the reason is, busing students, 496 students, busing them to other schools is going to cost money.
title I school, you're losing money if you shut down austin elementary. Regeneration of a young neighborhood.
there's not many neighborhoods in coppell that young families can't afford. They can't afford the neighborhood in
a austin elementary neighborhood. You want regeneration. It's the future of cid.
if we don't have new students come in, new families, young families, we're not going to have a cid. We're going to lose it.
I want to focus on the money, not the passion we all have for our schools.
we all have our passion. But not forget the reason we're here is because of money and there's lots of reasons for that.
thank you. Thank you for time today. >> thank you, alicia.
>> good evening board members? I'm [inaudible] at 10755 canoe drive in irving?
it's a south haven community it's a brand new community with sd. I request the board to reconsider the decision of closing
austin elementary before state makes funding decision in january 2025.
please try to use the 70 plus million rainy day fund. We did not want oversize classrooms or
causing negative shock to kids will impact their growth. There are 496 kids in austin.
how are you going to accommodate them in various cst schools? Can you please share the rubric results?
why are other schools not in consultation? Can you please keep the austin all the csd schools open?
please request the state to increase the budget per student based on the inflation.
and can you please keep the austin elementary open? There are 20 plus kids from
my community at austin second grade who goes to school along with my daughter. Please do not separate them by placing them at different schools.
please do not send my two kids to two different schools. I cannot take it.
and I moved down from plano three years ago just for csd school. T hank you.
>> thank. Sure, you give me one second. I'm going to call up tisha shaw.
and then is it janie christian, jani c kristian?
this one I'm having a hard time with the writing.
>> 1565 otter way.
>> maybe in the other room. We'll give a second on that one, but sorry I just wanted you to stand there for a second.
>> thanks judy. >> judy barbo 607 movie lane.
first of, I'd like to thank you all for your time, which I know it's countless hours.
I've had the opportunity to work with several of you and I know most of you personally.
I know this is not a decision that you take lightly. It is gut wrenching and probably many sleepless nights.
having been there in your seat, I advocate for every school in coppell.
I believe in all of them, I think they're great. I think every program is great. But at the juncture that we're at,
we need find some money, and we need to, unfortunately,
be at the situation we're at. With that said, I'm a proud austin alumni parent,
had two kids that have gone through austin, have one that is currently employed at austin
and I've been in the austin zone for over 30 years. But with a decrease in elementary kids throughout the district,
it is the one neighborhood that is regenerating, and it is in my opinion,
the board has always done what is right for the best option for the district with the least impact of the children,
and just keep that in mind. Thank you. >> thank you, judy. Ela.
>> my name is ela price, and I live at two oh five south mcguur boulevard.
I'm a sophomore in new tech this year and I feel that new tech shouldn't be closed or consolidated because it
has built an environment that makes students feel safe and able to truly be themselves at school.
it makes it safe for students to express themselves without fear or bullying in
a learning environment that's fully supports their students and independence and transition into adulthood.
along with giving students a second choice of the type of school they want to go to instead of being directed to chs.
it gives students a chance to show their strengths in other ways that are other than taking a test.
it allows students to give a chance, present, network with businesses and learn other skills that prepare them for
a world that they are exposed to after they graduate. Thank you.
>> thank you, ela. Addition one second, I'm going to go ahead and call laura wortman,
ignacio, martinez and chris.
shall. Thank you. Then again, and if I miss somebody,
we'll come back at the end to, but p. Jeanie christian at 1365 water way,
if you're in the building, you can make your way up as well. Thank you. Tisha shaw.
>> hi. My name is tisha shaw. I live at 9718 wendy holle drive, irving texas.
thank you to the coppell community for giving me this opportunity to speak today. New tech coppell has created a family and a safe environment.
I am always going back to my facilitators and friends knowing that they will always have my back no matter what.
new tech is a hidden gem. Because of its unique education system, the community impact that the school does is amazing.
letting students find their passion along with all of this and also letting students network is a huge pic point.
everyone in the school has a unique personality that makes each person different and not the same.
these students can be themselves and not someone that they have to be forcefully.
this makes them stand out from other 100 students out there.
this is a school for leaders. Hiking out the school is like taking out hundreds of leaders from the community.
my request to the board is to keep the school by finding a new solution that could help out and keep the school one of a kind. Thank you.
>> ignacio martinez, 765 south coppell road.
thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I'm here to express my concerns about the proposal
to consolidate our dli program to another school. This decision is not in the best interest of
our students or our community for several reasons. Growing up in mexico,
I personally benefited from a dual language program. Many families, including mine,
moved to coppell specifically for the dli program at wilson elementary. This program is a significant factor in our schools enrollment.
the esl students, who are the backbone of our dli program are zoned for
the wilson and live literally right across the street. Busing them across town instead of allowing them to walk to school
isolates them from their community and disrupts their daily lives. This is a community that is typically underrepresented in events such as these,
given the language barrier and unfortunately aren't able to speak for themselves.
when the board rezoned cypress waters residents from lee elementary, it was to keep the community together.
consolidating the dli program to denton creek divides our community and contradicts this rationale.
as mentioned before, esl students living within a block away from wilson and
would prefer to stay even if it means moving to monolingual classes. Thank you.
>> thank you. I'm going to go ahead and call lean lou, beth holland, and sherry hill as well.
>> hi. I'm short, [laughter] sorry. I'm laura wortman.
I live at 506 eden street. I'm not going to try to look at my notes now because I think it's in my head.
I'm here to advocate for new tech. I originally say all schools in coppell and I still really stand by that,
but what's near and dear to my heart is new tech, because I have an autistic daughter who's in this room right here.
I don't think that without the choice between high-schools and
both the learning model and the learning environment that we give at the high school level,
that my child would be thriving at this point. When growing up in middle school is very hard for communication,
it was very hard to make friends, it was very hard to feel like you're a part of something. At new tech, the way that the learning styles are,
where you're forced into project based learning, where you're delivering together, where you are able to go to things like networking on fridays and you're forced to
be in that environment where you have to get to know people and you have to know how to work with them, that is invaluable.
having that choice, those different environments, and those different learning models within the high-school level and
the upper higher analytics learning level in high-school here in coppell is critical. Thank you for my time.
>> chris shell, 108 rosebriar court. I want to thank the board first off for tackling these issues.
school consolidation is nasty business. You guys know this. There's no winners.
nobody wants to be here, well, other than y'all. I like to quickly make two points.
as we go through this process, I would insist that the board is forthright with
their participation and with their attendance relationships, and that the schools targeted have some transparency
as to how the board members have relationships to these schools. The second point I want to make is that coppell prides itself in choice,
but in a time of austerity, choice is a luxury we no longer have.
austin elementary sits in the heart of coppell with 87% of students zoned for austin elementary,
excluding pre k. With consolidation, a majority of these students will
lose the bond that they have to walk to school with their parents.
we're going to have kids who are going to be walking across major thoroughfares. I do wonder that if we're willing to cut the heart
of coppell in austin elementary or what we're even doing as a town. Thank you.
>> then following sherry, here in a second, robert and jans hill,
both of you are up next. >> I'm leanne loop. I live at 617 villa wood lane previously at highland meadow circle,
where we could walk with our kids 5-7 minutes away from austin elementary.
I'm here as a community member and a former austin parent and pto volunteer,
and a lot of things have already been said, so I'm just going to go to what has not been said. According to the north texas real estate information systems mls,
the average home sold price of the last six months in the austin attendance zone
is $536,349 and there were 40 homes sold in that period.
the average home sold price over the last six months in the pinkerton zone is $811,912 and there were 20 homes sold.
I share this because the austin attendance zone, which includes rental homes and apartments is one of
the most affordable cisd areas in which a family can buy or rent a home. If the district is looking to increase the number of elementary age children in cisd,
the austin neighborhoods are and continue to be an ideal place where that could happen.
I'm so sorry we find ourselves in this situation. Thank you for handling it for us.
>> julian.
>> hi. My name is beth holland, and I live at 220 meadow glen circle,
and I'm the proud parent of three denton creek trailblazers and dli students.
their names are mac, henry, and will. I'm also a part of the pto at denton creek.
part of what I want to touch on that we've been working through as a school this past week is the lack of
transparency that the presentation on monday gave to us as a community at denton creek.
our name was said a lot, but it wasn't nothing displayed the impact of
what the proposition of combining the dli program would be on our school.
we have probably 50% of our monolingual students that would be rezoned to three different campuses,
completely breaking up the monolingual part that our dual language kids are friends with,
shifting the diversity that is at our school. It is a huge change that the parents at denton creek did
not at all understand after the presentation.
it's something we've been talking about, and it's been really frustrating just to not have that transparency there. Thank you.
>> hello. I am sherry hill, 724 post oak coppell.
my name is sherry hill, and I'm a dli mom, a pdo board member and a wilson ranger.
I've spent the morning on saturday talking with wilson families that live across the street from wilson.
many of these families I spoke to did not even know that this was happening where the dli program could be moved to denton creek.
these families are mostly the spanish second language students that
go to wilson dli that meets up the need of wilson dli.
these families and these kids are part of after school community clubs that we have,
such as theater with mr. Hanson, such as robotics with ms. Cantu,
and by us moving the dli and busing them to denton,
they're going to lose this opportunity to be in these after school activity.
wilson is a family that is made off of a culture of the dli program,
and I am a wilson ranger. >> garry. One second, robert.
I'm going to call vimal cajun and previn paladogo.
you guys can join the line.
>> robert hill, 724 post oak.
wilson dli program, under the leadership of principal hilton and his incredible staff has become the cornerstone of our community.
the unique culture and environment created and fostered as a thriving learning environment for our children.
moving the program to denton creek could jeopardize the educational opportunities and the positive outcomes of our students.
the wilson educators have helped our family in ways money can't explain.
my son is dyslexic and with the guidance of wilson staff,
vance has moved from struggling to reading and is now reading on the same level or above his peers.
in the process of making his family proud with the success which wouldn't happen if he wasn't in wilson.
the decision to move the wilson dli would lead to possible exodus of the students from the program.
many parents expressed strong preference of keeping their children at wilson. The large number of dli children that walk to the wilson would also cause a hardship on
those families already trying to learn english without having to worry about transportation.
let us prioritize the well being of our students and preserve the exceptional educational opportunities offered by
the wilson dli and principal hilton. I am a wilson ranger.
>> [inaudible] >> hi. My name is vance. I live at 724 post oak drive coppell.
I am a wilson ranger. I love my school.
it is my home. I'm not just a number,
I am a person. I don't want to lose my friends or my school.
please don't move wilson.
>> thank you. I'm going to go ahead and call up, so we've got raj vimal,
then I'm going to call up praveen. Sorry. Doug, is that your order?
>> [inaudible] >> we're good. Praveen, and then virendra shah. If you'll join.
>> good evening, everyone. My name is vimal khasa from 10631 kingfisher road.
today, I'm here for my son, who goes to austin elementary and to support fellow residents of the south haven community here.
my son loves going to austin, and for him change is incredibly difficult.
we have seen tremendous improvement in his communication and cognitive skills since his time in austin,
and we are quite excited for his future in austin. I understand the district's financial challenges,
but why rush the decision? The texas legislature meets in january,
which might offer some funding solutions. We are also missing transparency in how certain schools were selected for closure.
we have substantial emergency fund, and for me, this is an emergency.
we would like to use this time to explore innovative solutions like repurposing underused facilities,
partnering with local businesses, or expanding open enrollment to attract more families to keep the schools open.
instead of focusing on school closures, we should be channeling our collective energy to keep the schools safe.
thank you. I'm a proud coppell resident and a concerned parent. Thank you.
>> [inaudible] >> good evening, board. I'm praveen palago. I reside at 1336 otter way in coppell in south haven community.
I'm a proud parent of a mustang in first grade, and we also have a daughter who will start kindergarten next year.
austin elementary is my son's first experience in a formal school setting, and he loves it.
the small class sizes at austin foster strong bonds between teachers and students and help the students grow emotionally and socially.
now this proposal to consolidate schools could potentially increase class sizes,
force parents and kids to commute longer distances and require them to adjust to new set of teachers, facilities.
this is unfair to my kids and our community. I urge the board to postpone the decision about
closing austin elementary until there is a better understanding of next year's budget allocations.
in the meantime, please consider using the rainy day fund to cover any deficits.
I'm confident that this community is willing to stand with the board and campaign for higher school budgets so that we don't have to be in this situation. Thank you.
>> there we go. Sorry. I'm just going to call a few more names while we're switching speak.
raja chikami, pirvin kumar,
sanjay singh, if you want to join the line. You may start.
>> hi. Good evening. I'm dr. Raj bondugula. I live at 10640 canoe drive coppell.
I'm also a resident of south haven neighborhood that is zoned to austin elementary school.
the prospect of austin shutting down is detrimental to our younger son's future since he'll not benefit
from small class sizes and individual attention he receives today. Studies have shown that both of
these factors have profound impact on children's development. In addition to the longer commute to a school father from the neighborhood,
it will also increase his stress levels. I'm being told that if something happens to austin,
it could also mean our neighborhood could be rezoned into a school other than coppell east,
impacting my older son, who will start at middle school next year. While I'm talking about my children here,
I also represent the anxiety of every parent in our neighborhood with about 200 houses.
we're asking your help to come up with creative solutions that can prevent austin elementary from shutting down.
we're asking for a solution that can save our property values from plummeting,
which in turn will impact the schools even more. We are asking for this group to work with state legislators to increase
the funding allotted per student and prevent such school closings. Thank you very much.
>> good evening. My name is virendra shah. I live at 9718 wendy hollow drive irving.
I'm here to advocate new tech education system.
my daughter is a 10th grader, and when she was in eighth grade,
she had a choice to make, whether to go to new tech or to another school chs.
because of the unique program, project based learning, and the way it's suit her style, personality,
we felt new tech is the place and she liked the whole program and the approach.
this being a second year, she made a commitment to complete her high-school in the new tech.
here is my request for the board, to please consider and give a choice to our students, our community,
to select between the programs and find a creative way and solution to keep the program active. Thank you.
>> hello. My name is ragara regecani. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today.
I live in 1364 waterway, south ave community, and my child attends austin elementary.
I'm here today because closing schools like ours is a mistake. We moved to coppell about three years ago,
for it's excellent schools and pay high property taxes for the promise of quality education.
other promises being broken. Why should families like mine continue to investing in
a community that's willing to close very schools that made it desirable?
why aren't we using the rainy day fund? Isn't this exactly what it's for to keep our schools open during difficult times?
why aren't we waiting until january to see if additional state funding could help? Why rush to close schools when there's a chance of relief just months away?
closing these schools will break the bonds that kids have formed [noise] with their friends,
teachers, and the nurturing environment that has shaped them. It's not just about education.
it's about the community these schools create. Why don't we open enrollment to increase enrollment?
why only certain schools are considered for closing when there are other schools with lower enrollment.
are we going to close more schools? How was it decided that [inaudible]? Thank you.
>> so we're going to call on mishra.
forgive me on this one, but yeyi mohtamed at 309 ricknw, then hajra rashid.
>>I'm pawun kumarbiki, and I live in 10719 kingfisher road in south haven community.
I recently moved my two kids from charter school to austin elementary,
as I heard great things about austin. This is a big change for them as they lose their old friends and teachers,
which they are accustomed to. As my kids getting accustomed to austin with new friends and teachers,
it will be disappointing that next year they will be forced to go to new school and accustomed to new school all over again.
we still don't know how austin was chosen as one of the schools and shocked with this news.
we are all paying higher property taxes every year and,
it's the time to increase the funding per student. We want austin elementary to be open like today,
and I don't want my kids to be disappointed at this time.
we don't want to go back to charter school again. You don't try to encourage this case. Thank you.
>> good evening. My name is sanjay singh, and I reside at 1360 wood drive.
two of my kids go to austin elementary. My daughter is in first grade,
and my son is in fourth grade. We recently moved them from universal academy to to austin elementary.
from the day 1, my kids love the teachers, the personal attention they get,
the staff and everybody at austin elementary. Changing the structure of austin elementary in form of
any shape or anything would be detrimental to our kids.
it is my sincere request to the board that they should consider not merging or closing austin elementary,
and come up with some other innovative ideas to continue the school. Thank you.
>> thank you. I'm also going to call to join us in line as sunil samaran,
and then sarash chirom mamila.
>> let me start. Hi. Good evening, board members.
my name is misa. I live in 10559 kingfisher road carpel.
we have recently moved my kid from charter school. He's just adjusting here right now,
and as a parents, we are also adjusting to a new form of education here.
he got friends there already, neighbor friends that he wanted to and he lost
his couple of friends in the charter school. We were shocked with the news because
we had a plan like he's going to go to middle school, and then if we come here for the next three years, he will make friends.
then when he go to middle school, he's very familiar with the teachers and the environment.
after getting this, I don't know which school he is going, he's getting apart from his friends.
so we were concerned and apart from that,
the commuting and all. So we were spending like one hour every day to commute.
now it is easy. I work from home most of the time.
and my work started at 6:30. I don't have time to go and also.
yeah. So please consider those things and thank you.
hi, I'm [inaudible] motamed. I live at 3:09 riknll drive.
when I walked into my ap world classroom this year at new tech high,
the first thing we defined was culture. Specifically, we used our school as an example.
we have rules set by our own students enforced by our trust cards and our culture is open and welcoming.
when I went to chs, I was counting down the days until summer,
like literally counting. I had a whole list. At new tech, I don't want school to end ever.
our learning system brings a unique experience to us where we can
implement our learning into real world situations and our own projects. We learn to work with others and act professionally.
without new tech, I could never come up here and speak to you today. Overall, we need a second choice in such influential moments of our lives.
new tech has made such an impact to me and I can't imagine graduating anywhere,
but there, please don't make me. Thank you for your time.
hi. My name is [inaudible]. I live at 160 mockingbird.
so I have been thinking what to say, and so I'm going to just speak from the heart.
what austin means to me and as a single mom that moved to coppell three years ago,
it's more than just a building, it's more than a brick. It is a home.
it is where my kids have flourished and became who they were.
my daughter, who is in now, when she came back going to austin,
she said, mom, I can finally be myself. I can be who I am, I feel seen, I feel heard.
those moments have still mean more to me than anything. I have two sons there.
they heard last week that austin might be closing. The first thing my son came to me is like, well,
does the other school even have house colors? What are you doing? This cannot happen, and trying to calm these kids down and their nerves of saying, hey,
no decisions I've made, and my 8-year-old looked at me dead in the eye, said, this matters to me.
this decision matters to me and where I'm going and how this is being rezoned.
I think there's needs to be transparency. I think we need to understand, so we can first explain to our kids.
but again, [inaudible]. >> thank you. I'm going to call up to join us in line serena and then somo dugarada.
and we are at the halfway point. You guys are doing great, so thank you.
>> good evening, board members. My name is [inaudible]. I live at 13:43 minor road,
and I stand here before you today as a concerned parent as a part of neighborhood which includes
around 200 families all anxious about the potential closure of the austin elementary.
for my daughter and many other children, austin's small class size and individualized attentions
are crucial for their academic and emotional development. Study shows that these factors greatly contribute to the child's success.
moving her to a larger part of the school will not only deprive her of this essential support,
but will also add unnecessary stress due to the longer commute. We are asking for help in finding creative solutions to prevent austin from closing.
this decision would affect not only our children's educations,
but also our property values which would further harm the district.
please work with state legislators to increase student funding and together,
let's find a way to keep the austin elementary open. Thank you.
>> go ahead. Carla belen and emily brasfield yakin join the line.
>> good evening directors? I'm [inaudible] I live in 1373 otaway, south haven community.
as a parent of a second grader at austin elementary,
I'm deeply concerned about the proposed school closure. We relocated to this area from
philadelphia specifically for the highly regarded popular cisd. I believe quality education is pivotal for my child's future.
these are my questions and concerns. What factors led to the to close the schools in this district?
was community input considered? Have you assessed the emotional impact on students?
who will leave their familar school environment, friends and teachers.
how will the increase student to teacher ratio affect the quality of education,
and what measures will be taken to maintain individualized attention?
doesn't closing schools contradict the message
of prioritizing high quality education in our community and the country.
what alternative solutions explore to avoid school closures, such as consolidation of resources,
budget reallocation, or community partnerships? Thank you.
>> good evening, everyone. My name is serena, south haven resident, residing at 1347 wood.
my younger daughter as part of early childhood intervention, she has been evolving under austin elementary scare,
and I'm deeply saddened by the news of closure of austin elementary
because kids like her and other children who rely on these specialized needs will have a greater impact.
and I want to emphasize that students have voices too. Just because they can't talk like adults doesn't mean we can take them out for a ride.
a significant concern is moving them to overcrowded schools or forcing them to take longer routes.
it's going to have a bigger impact on their studies because it leads to longer commute time,
less rest time, things like that. If a family faces financial distress,
compromising kids' education is the last thing that we take into account.
that is not even an option. I'm deeply saddened that we are talking about closure of schools.
whatever the challenge the district is facing, we are ready to stand by,
be it fund raising or anything. [inaudible] please let stay austin elementary. Thank you.
>> following emily in a second. We've got jazz meta, tomala,
and then andrew [inaudible]. >> good evening. My name is [inaudible],
and I live at 1316 in otaway, which is south haven community again.
I'm here today as a concerned parent of two students at austin elementary,
one in fourth grade, and one in freak. My family and we moved to this community three years ago,
and austin elementary was one of the main reasons we choose to call this place our home.
the potential closure of austin elementary is devastate. It's like losing a part of our family.
as a parent and member of this community, I strongly believe that austin elementary is vital to neighborhoods well being.
closure would have far reaching consequences for our children's education and our community cohesion.
the question I have is, how would closing schools help the budget issue?
I believe closing schools would force families to move out of
the cis which will increase the problem of budget.
so in the long term. I respectfully request that the cst board consider the long term impact
of closing the schools and explore alternative solutions that would keep schools open. Thank you.
>> after andrew will be aj patusi. Paturi, sorry.
we'll get there. Thank you. >> I am carla belen. I live at 151 heather glen drive.
good evening. Thank you guys for being here. I have kids at east and west,
and my husband teaches at chs9. As part of the bonds steering committee,
I read hundreds of pages of facility documents, and I know that just scratches the surface of what you guys have already done.
I know as do you that the budget needed to get pinkerton, the building up to even the standard of one of our footprint schools like
austin was so high that the bond committee voted against any additional renovation money,
even knowing that that could result in future consolidation. I debated whether or not to give comments tonight since my kids thrived at
austin and I really don't want to create an austin versus pinkerton showdown. To the board, I'll just say thank you.
I know the flood of messages. Some of them super hateful that we got as a bond committee.
again, I know that just scratches the surface of what you guys get. My hope is that everyone will remember that you as a board are here to serve all kids.
I know we each want to advocate for our own child. But remember that if we're attending or listening to this meeting,
our child has a deeply involved parent who's going to advocate for them. Not all kids have that.
you matter means every child matters. >> thank you, carla.
>> my name is emily brasfield. I live at 448 hidden valley lane.
my family moved to coppell 11 years ago. We fell in love with the community and the schools.
when we bought our first home in 2018, we knew we wanted our children to attend a neighborhood school.
we found a home walking distance to austin elementary. Austin has offered a loving and enriching elementary experience
for all four of my children. We have since moved to a home that is zoned for pinkerton,
but have transferred to stay at austin the last three years because one love the school and the teachers,
and we're actually closer to austin and we can avoid the morning traffic on dent tap.
as a mother with children at three different campuses. I can tell you that during the morning drop off rush, every minute matters.
as the board considers their options, I hope they consider
the real estate appeal of a neighborhood school for future home buyers.
I believe keeping neighborhood schools will make our district attractive to future young families looking to establish roots,
just like it has been for mine. Thank you. >> thank you. Also go ahead and call sophia and leslie cardio.
you guys will be joining the line, please. >> hello, andrew [inaudible], 527 melinda street.
first and foremost, I'd like to thank the board for recognizing the unique value that
ib program brings to the district by making sure that ib program is in all of the options that are being considered.
with that, there is one option which has ib program being moved,
and I would urge the board to strongly consider what are the details of that and share that with the community for transparency.
ib programs require strict teacher training protocols.
are the teachers at wilson going to be trained? Are the teachers at pinkerton going to be transferred?
what is the plan? Students at wilson who do not want to be
part of an ib program and keep their current curriculum. How will those students be impacted by this change?
there are multiple schools across multiple areas that will be impacted by moving the ib program.
lastly, ib program is not just a certificate you put on the wall, it's a culture.
it's a unique culture that's created over years and years?
that does not transfer with a school. Thank you.
>> good afternoon, everyone. I'm ajay [inaudible],
and I'm a dad of two kids that go to austin, one is in kindergarten and one is in second grade.
I'm sure you all understand the passion and the sentiment that all
of us paid and share facing the closure or possible closure.
I don't want to repeat a lot of that. I just wanted to add that the reason
we bought a home close to austin is because it's in a very safe and secure neighborhood.
it's got a good setting and the kids really enjoy the school and all of that.
I was mentioning this to my daughter yesterday that there is a possibility
of the school closing down and she got a little bit emotional and after a little bit of back and forth,
she was asking me why. We said apparently there is not enough money to run the school
and she came up with a solution and then a couple of seconds,
she said, "why don't you pay and then we don't have to close the school."
it sounds like a two-year-old solution, but thinking about it, I would ask the same of the board that.
>> thanks, sorry. >> pulling more funding. >> time. Thank you.
>> I want to make sure we didn't miss jasmita jumala. Didn't get anybody.
>> my name is sophia corio. I live at 486 forest ridge drive.
board members, I really hope that you will not relocate dli from wilson to denton creek.
I'm currently in fifth grade dli and have two younger siblings in dli at wilson.
we love being able to walk to school, and my brother and I are really looking forward to the musical lion king this year.
please don't take my siblings from wilson and the opportunities there. It's always been a joy to go to wilson.
my siblings and I all have friends in monolingual there. If you move the dli program,
my siblings and I will most likely never see them again until middle school. Thank you for your time.
>> thank you. I'm also going to call up, is it [inaudible]?
>> are you ready?
>> sorry, go ahead. >> my name is leslie cardio. I live at 486 forrest ridge drive.
seven years ago, my family was forced to make a hard decision. We could either send our oldest child to dli at
denton creek or we could let her kids walk to wilson elementary.
with this proposed change of moving dli to denton creek,
you're asking us to make the same hard choice over again. I can either continue or drive my children to denton creek or let them walk to wilson.
we chose to send our daughter to wilson doing monolingual.
at this point, I have four children who have taken some class at wilson.
we've had nearly every teacher in both monolingual and dli.
wilson is just a very special, unique atmosphere. My youngest child has literally grown up at wilson elementary. Everyone knows her.
the teachers are amazing, they'll go above and beyond for every student,
wilson rangers truly lead the way. We hope that you will not move the dli program from wilson. Thank you.
>> I'll also go ahead and call sissy davila, [inaudible] and kristin johnson.
>> hi, I'm [inaudible], and I live at 444 burns street, coppell.
I love this community, and today, I stand before you as a concerned parent of a student at pinkerton elementary school.
as someone who's grown up moving schools, I can tell you firsthand that while this decision might save some dollars in short term,
it will have a lasting and profound impact on our child's future. Schools are the backbone of coppell economy.
I've heard colleagues from other states talk about moving to coppell because of its school.
it's not just one school, but the entire ecosystem of school that builds this reputation.
closing any school will disrupt this delicate balance and we may never fully recover as a community.
the economic impact of property values in coppell would be significant.
I urge you not to view this just through the lens of saving dollars or balancing deficits.
this is not a corporation. This is a community. It's not just about keeping one or two schools open,
it's about preserving the fabric of our community. As parents, the happiness and well being of our children are our top priorities.
it is what binds us together as community. If you take that away, there will be little left for outside world to admire about coppell.
please, let's keep this community. >> time.
>> hello, I'm [inaudible] and I live a 444 burns street, coppell.
I'm a fourth grader at pinkerton elementary. I'm here to ask you from the bottom of my heart to keep all our schools open.
this community means everything to me. I made so many friends here.
friends I see at school, at play dates, and at of there. They're my besties and I can't imagine growing up with that.
I know my friends in other schools feel the same way. If schools close, we might be separated,
and that'll be really hard for us. Moving to a new school isn't just about new teachers and new friends,
it's about losing the comfort of what we know. It messes with our sleep, makes us anxious, and takes away the joy of learn.
we're just kids, we need stability and support. Please, help us stay in the schools we love.
let us grow up together. Happy and secure. Thank you for listening. >> thank you.
>> good evening, everyone. My name is tri mai, I'm in fourth grade.
I live in 1356 wood duck drive. I want to say something.
I don't want austin to be closed because, one, austin elementary is my first and only school I've been to.
second, the school song says that austin elementary will stay as a reminder about the school when we grow.
I would feel very sad if the school gets closed and a lot of people love the school.
I love my teachers. I love my friends. I love my school.
I'm an austin mustang, and my only request is please let austin elementary stay as it is, and stay open.
again, I'm a proud austin mustang.
>> thank you. Can I get your name again? >> tri mai.
>> thank you. >> hi. My name is [inaudible].
I live in 549 parkway boulevard. I'm a wilson parent. This is hard.
almost five years ago, my wife and I move from chicago looking for a better quality of life.
we didn't have any family or friends that could help us decide where to settle but during the research,
my wife found out that coppell isd had a dual language program,
and that was the start of our texas life. My son started attending wilson,
and immediately we fell in love with the school. My daughter is starting to attend wilson as well, and she loves it.
they love their friends, teachers. Mr. Cooper has done an amazing job creating the wilson community.
wilson is a place where cultures mingle. If the dli programs move out of wilson,
wilson will never be the same. This is why it's so important to keep all schools open.
the majority of dli students in wilson will not transfer to denton creek.
they will opt out dli and stay in wilson. Thanks.
>> thank you.
>> thank
you.
>> [foreign] >> thank you. Go ahead and also call up [inaudible].
this one is a tough one to terry vede. Look who got there.
then is it ishan and I don't have a last name or ishu.
perfect. Sorry. Thank you. >> hello. I'm kristin johnson.
I'm at 504 halifax lane, and I have some bummer news because like denton creek elementary,
not understanding what was happening. Even as of today, many of people at wilson did
not understand what was happening but luckily, we have a great bilingual community who speaks both spanish and english,
and we were able to get the word out starting as soon as the meeting ended last week and make sure all parents there are aware of what was happening.
as of today, we have 174 dli families who
have said that they will most likely stay at wilson if dli is moved to dce,
which unfortunately, based on those numbers, means that your two scenarios of closing pinkerton and closing austin cannot
happen because both of them required at least 80% of wilson dli to agree to move to dce.
based on these numbers, those two scenarios won't work and so we request that you either go back to the committee and get
some new options or maybe have a more culturally inclusive committee next
time that can operate from real backs and updates from the community.
I can share that petition with the board. I think I emailed everyone today.
>> thank you.
>> hi. My name is ashok [inaudible]. I'm a resident of 1707 e beltline, coppell, texas.
that's a southern community. My kid is a kindergartner and a fourth grader,
both goes to austin elementary, and they love the school from day one. I don't want my kids to go to a school which is far
away from a community and separate them from his community friends, and the kids are distributed across the schools.
our property tax are increasing 10% year on year, and where are my money going on?
why is per head student allocation not increased based on the inflation.
I want the board to wait until texas legislative funding in january to make a final decision.
I don't understand why mockingbird elementary, which is the nearest school for our community is not considered for relocation.
all the schools which were considered are far away from our community, and there are a lot of traffic issues which we have
been facing earlier when my kid was in a charter school.
I want to thank everyone for giving this opportunity to speak here. Please reconsider austin elementary.
>> thank you.
>> hi, good morning, everyone. My name is [inaudible] and I'm studying fourth grade in austin elementary.
I would like to fight for my school not to be closed. I'm so sad after hearing the news.
I used to study at charter school, which is far away from my home,
and my parents used to work hard for pickup and drop every day.
after moving to austin elementary,
I'm in a school near my home and I ride in a bus.
I enjoy staying at austin elementary. I have all my friends and I'm worried as I am going to miss my friends.
I love my teachers here, they're so kind and nice,
and I'm worried I'm going to miss them.
I want to stay with my community friends with whom I travel to school every day.
I'm worried I'm going to miss them. Please save austin elementary.
thank you for the time. >> thank you. I fell asleep at the wheel.
let's regroup here. We've got roseman [inaudible], ezekiel medina,
benjamin waters, and then [inaudible].
if you'll just bear in mind, our mics are pretty sensitive and they do pick up a lot of the background noise.
sorry. You may go ahead. >> roseman [inaudible], I live at 729 south coppell road.
we are a group of five concerned pinkerton parents who would like to voice our thoughts on 7.1.1.
first and foremost, it makes zero sense to close any school in cisd because you are
worried about a projected deficit when this school district has never operated in an actual deficit.
as a fiscally conservative school district, have a 77 million fund balance.
why are we prematurely closing for what if scenarios that have yet to materialize?
I would also like to remind the school board of its function. School boards are elected to make decisions about educational programs
based on community needs, expectations, and values. Our community has spoken.
the value of land and how much it sells for should not be put over the needs of students and their learning.
cuts are never easy but if you are truly set on school closure in the name of efficiency, then be efficient.
for the same cost savings, you are considering three options, new tech and up-heave 323 students,
close austin and up-heave hundreds more or close pinkerton and unnecessarily up-heave the most students. Thank you.
>> easy kumdina, 750 east main street. For its price tag, $2.2 million new tech serves the fewest at 323 students.
it's projected decline, enrollment holds true. We spend over 10% of its budget transporting people
from chs to ninth grade campus back to new tech.
that becomes sadly a viable option. But when we're looking at the numbers,
if you're set on closing in elementary school, let's first carefully examine the data presented us at the last school board meeting.
the projected schools facing decline elementary enrollment are the northern elementary campuses.
you have lakeside, town center and wilson. There are all projected capacity at 60%,
64%, and 75% respectively. Notably, pinkerton provides a pretty healthy projected 94% even after the consolidation.
now, at this moment, I don't think pinkerton is our primary choice.
if you must decide between pinkerton and austin, the most efficient way to distribute and fill in the gaps with
the schools in the north is not closing down pinkerton at this time.
austin attendance zones are geographically most proximate. >> northern schools facing [inaudible].
>> all right, sir. Thanks.
>> thank you. Also call up jen carl and
luke rutledge to join the line. Sorry. Go ahead, benjamin.
>> benjamin waters 252 east bethel road. Following up on zeke's remarks.
closing pinkerton is even less efficient than closing austin. This ring around the rosy method moves pinkerton to wilson,
wilson to don creek, and then uses the surplus to backfill lakeside, town center and cotton creek.
the cost of moving the id ib program to wilson is underestimated,
and therefore, the cost savings of closing pinkerton overestimated. Unspecified costs such as training additional ib teachers,
time and money to transfer the ib certificate have not been included in the analysis.
we're also concerned that building conditions and potential land value of the schools was considered in the rubric.
in may 2023, our city just passed a $321 million bond package to improve all cisd campuses.
then use building status as criteria to justify closing a school is
misleading to voters and what the community voted to preserve just a few short months ago.
there are also additional costs in closing pinkerton as well.
dismantling and reforming an id program will lose the values and momentum.
>> thanks.
>> good evening. My name is kami shi carla. I live at 444 bun state kopel,
I'm a pinkerton parent. We argued that the expanded access to
iba benefit touted last meeting is a false narrative. First, pinkerton has historically
accommodated all students who have applied to the iba program. Second, option b necessitates 75% of current pinkerton population wunsu wilson.
presumptively in order to qualify for a campus transfer of the ib certificate.
the wilson dli program is dependent upon and t thrives in its current version
primarily because of the spanish speaking golden triangle mobile home complex
directly across the street. Ethical and equity issues of moving those students to
another campus will be addressed by others tonight, but importantly,
consolidating the dli program assumes that most of the 330 wilson dli students will move to denton creek,
considering school loyalties limited means of the bilingual population and unwillingness to the denton creek, cms north caroline.
we predict that many students zone by and monolingual will choose to stay with their home from school. Thank you.
>> thank you. Jen I'm going to go ahead and call sushi yadi and alyssa kai.
>> benz how born and raised in coppell, currently living at 484l.
I'm going to continue where she left off. Especially when leaving the dli program
is bundled with moving to a different but excellent choice of ib, there may not be enough room to keep all of pinkerton's current 361 ib students.
in conclusion, please remove pinkerton from the consideration of closure.
of all the options still on the table, closing pinkerton will provide the least actualized cost savings,
result in the least benefit and increased enrollment efficiency, and will impact the most number of students,
will disrupt an entire school and two choice programs, and disrupt a school that I
emphasize is not even involved in the projected elementary school enrollment shortage.
in the absence of any ulterior motives and if minimizing student impact and
preserving educational quality is truly the priority of cisd with this decision,
closing pinkerton is the least logical method on the table. We as a community, are we willing to bulldoze a part of
our history and to destroy our legacy school? Please think about this carefully. Thank you.
>> good evening. Luke rutledge, 145 shady adale lane.
today I want to advocate for austin elementary. Keep it open.
austin is more than just a building or a line item of $2.6 million.
it's definitely a cornerstone in a fabric, as you've heard this evening for many parents, for many kids.
a lot of parents volunteering thousands of hours because of the spirit of the school and why people pay high property taxes.
I urge you to play the long game. I would urge you that you utilize a $7 million of
the $40 million surplus that would delay for at least two years.
I would do three things. Number 1, time for a deep independent economic study.
there will be impacts. People moving out, taxes, maybe value property going down.
number 2, opportunity for a deeper community collaboration on solutions.
number 3, give parents time to fight the legislator. My urge to you guys would be to play the long game on this one.
thanks for your leadership collaboration.
>> hi, my name is shiel wade 10556. >> now, go ahead.
>> shiel wade, 10556 king fisher opel, texas.
I want to say please save austin our elementary school.
kids spend most of the days in school than with parents during weekdays and they have special bond with teachers.
my daughter and my son, they're known but teachers know by the names because the small schools,
better environment, because they're able to have that bond.
elementary school is where kids are molded according to the type of environment around the kid.
that is how they behave, they're disciplined, how they enjoy.
when we merge the small schools a big schools, we not only create mass schools,
but also break these bonds, create a lot of hassle for kids and and they lose their friends.
kids are always starting the day at like 5:30 and schools start and buses come at 6:50.
with the new big schools and long distances, maybe the buses come at 6:00 in the morning.
I don't know when they sleep, what they do. We're already paying enough taxes and everything.
we have these backup funds. We should really think reconsider
a better strategy and save our schools. Please save austin.
>> after alyssa, we've got prisana, gundgoni, then annabelle, victoria and jennifer kim.
>> my name is alyssa chee, and I reside at 512 brier glen drive.
I would like to start off with a note of gratitude to the school board for taking the time to hear from
the community as you prepare to make some extremely difficult decisions in the coming weeks.
the diligence displayed by the members of the board and seeking the best possible solution to address
the budget deficit is deeply appreciated by all who are here tonight. I'm not here to try to persuade you to make one decision over
another because I am too aware of my own bias to do so with good conscience. However, I am at least able to acknowledge how fortunate I am
to live in coppell and that ultimately we are all in this together. Thinking of the broader community in this way reminds me we are all on the same team.
whatever the outcome of the upcoming proceedings, I am exceptionally grateful for the time my family has had at austin elementary.
from the first friendly faces we see of the day of miss deborah and officer willis who
ensure the safe crossing of students and parents making the time honored trek by bike and foot to campus,
to the front office staff members, miss branson and miss ortiz, who know me by name,
not to mention the long list of incredible teachers and support staff. The people here are what makes austin so special to many.
I have made deep connections with other parents here, many who are part of our incredible pto,
whose friendship I will continue to cherish. >> thank you.
>> hello. My name is prisana gogoni, and I'm a resident of 107 39c drive copal texas.
I am an austin parent, and I'm here to urge the board to ensure that
our children receive their basic right to quality education. It is deeply disheartening that we are considering
closing schools instead of securing the rightful funds they deserve. As a homeowner, we are paying steadily increasing taxes.
adjusting our lifestyles to ensure our children can access quality education. We lease our home for this very reason.
yet here I am advocating for the children's basic right. I strongly encourage you to visit the campuses under consideration to
close for closure to fully understand what we are taking away from these students.
for many students, school they currently attend is not just a place of education, but a community.
sudden transition to a new environment, especially the one that is
overcrowded could impact their emotional well being and academic performance. Please keep all schools open and focus on obtaining the necessary funds.
as a community, we stand with you to support this effort. Thank you all.
>> then following the coons, we have aneil and I don't have a last name at 10623 canoe drive.
can you read that firstly? >> hello, I'm abo.
I live at 20d richmond court, and I am here to talk about what we're going to do with the schools.
I used to go to wilson and I loved it. There is one of my favorite schools I've ever been to even I've
only been to around three, including preschool. They have the best traditions I've ever seen and I do miss going there every day.
now I'm in middle school, I realized how well my elementary school taught me in the middle school with all the new challenges that
face me such as emotional challenges and physical challenges in cross country.
I would be very sad if you closed down any school,
even if it's not wilson and move the dual language program.
I'd appreciate if you keep the school's dual language program in
wilson because I do think it helps a lot. Thank you for having me.
>> thank you.
>> hi, I'm victoria. I live in richmond court.
>> can you pull that?
>> I am a fourth grader at wilson elementary school.
I love going to wilson has lots of opportunities like theater,
bl conto art club, and so much more. I love my teachers, english, spanish and specials.
I love other teachers, and I like how close I can walk to school and I can walk home.
I like being able to walk home with my friends and writing them over last minute.
that's why I think wilson stay the way it is. I love to stay at wilson and
the dli program for my last year in elementary school. Thank you.
>> hi, I'm jennifer 203 richmond court.
please do not move the dual language program from wilson. The kids love their teachers and the school culture wilson has created.
for us, personally, we're able to walk to and from school. Walking two school allows my daughter to burn energy,
helping her better focus. Walking home has allowed us to create new friends, and there have been very impromptu play dates as we're walking home,
like, hey, can such and such, come home with us? I look over at the pairs. See you. Also, and if we move to denton creek,
we'll be stuck in the car pool traffic lane and all that will go away.
then in addition to that, wilson has a lot of extra curriculars.
one in particular is the musical theater program. Mr. Hanson opens it up for third to fifth grade,
every student's allowed to participate and be in it, and he doesn't charge a fee.
it's free. If you take these kids away, you're taking them from their ability to be in musical theater.
also, as far as I know, the kids are still trying to catch up from the covid loss. Thank you.
>> following, and forgive me because I can't read the writing on the first name,
but looks like mawani, last name at 788 huntingdon street.
followed by chitta tuari and garima chala.
>> thank you. I'm parent of kindergarten at pinkerton.
board members, I appreciate each of you as a pinkerton parent. I'm here to appeal to the board on behalf of all schools.
before you make a decision on school closing, give parents a chance to fight the state legislature.
texas legislation resumes in less than four months. In january, please give parents a chance
to come together and ask them for money for schools. Do not make a decision before having all the facts.
what if they release the funding, then we won't have a deficient and you won't need to close any school.
if they don't release the funds, you may need to close the schools. Don't make parents suffer through two consecutive years of school closes and rezoning.
do it once and do it in the right way. But not until you get all the facts.
if you close any school now, there is no incentive for parents to advocate for school funding in austin texas.
one more year, that's all I'm asking for. Let the parents unite and go to austin texas to make a stand for our public schools.
please give us something to fight for. Please not take our schools away.
>> thank you.
>> hello. My name is angie mani. I reside at 788 huntingdon street, coppell, texas.
thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I'm angie mani, and I serve as the student council president at new tech high at coppell.
my experiences at new tech have shown me the profound impact a school can have on a student's life.
over the past four years, new tech has become a second home to me.
it is a place where I feel safe, supported, and encouraged to learn and grow.
the environment has allowed me to harness my creativity, develop leadership skills, and gain the confidence to speak in settings like this today.
we understand that the district is facing issues with declining finances, but new tech learners specialize in solving real-world problems taught to us through pbl.
last year alone, new tech student council raised over $14,000,
most of which went to a charity organizations chosen by our senior class.
if necessary, the money could be reallocated to support our school. The capacities of our students and our staff is remarkable,
especially if it comes to supporting our school. Thank you for the time to hear my perspective today.
>> thank you so much. I'm going to go ahead and call up serie sasha and then ishana vishwanath.
>> hello. My name is shea tiwari. I'm resident of 1312 otter way,
and I'm speaking here as an austin parent. Recently, I visited my friend in seattle.
when I was talking to her, her first comment was, texas is the best for education.
yes, we believe that. We believe coppell isd is a best for education.
as that's the reason we decided to move to coppell isd. My daughter was going to chartered school,
but we decided to move her to coppell isd in the middle school because we trust that coppell isd will give best for the education.
my son is a first grader in austin and he tremendously enjoys his education.
also, I want to emphasize on another point is,
what covid did to us for his age group when he was two and now he's six.
it was a tremendous effect that way, the personalized education, the smaller class size helps teacher to
concentrate more on the students and it helps their growth. I really would urge you not to close austin elementary. Thank you.
>> hi, all. My name is garima, and I live at 1321 bluegill bay road in south haven community.
all of us are here to support our schools. Our schools are shutting down because of budget deficit and low enrollment rate.
but question boils down to how much money does it save and is it worth it?
because the cost that they're going to save our labor costs by cutting down transportation costs,
staff layoffs, like teachers, principals, librarian, and nurse layoffs.
shutting down austin elementary means losing a central hub for the entire neighborhood.
right now, student to teacher ratio is 14:1 there. I believe higher class trends means reduction
in attentiveness of students and also difficult for teachers to manage. Consolidation of schools cannot promise us quality education,
experienced teachers, big and safe campus. We moved to coppell because we wanted our child to attend this top rated school,
which is a four-minute drive from my house. Every year, we have been paying high taxes to be able to provide him quality education.
but now all of these efforts go futile if he's not able to get a profound foundation in his elementary years.
school closure decisions are never easy. Thank you. It's all your responsibility to make a responsible decision. Thank you.
>> thank you. >> good evening, everyone.
shrish dasa, 10651 kingfisher road. My son goes to austin elementary,
third grade, and he's a proud mustang. We moved to coppell isd area last year,
and I think we have made the best decision. He has flourished a lot.
he has improved a lot. I see the difference in him. He loves going to austin elementary.
the other thing is the convenience that austin provides with the close proximity to home.
so if he wants to learn swimming, or basketball, or tennis, that gives us time to take him to the activities,
but moving him from austin to some other school would take away all of that and I would hate my son being sad or something. Thank you.
>> I'm also going to go ahead and call up kartik gopisetti,
katan patel, rona dalman, and sierra ford.
>> good evening, all. My name is ishana vishwanath, student at new tech high school,
and I live in south haven. As a current sophomore, I can see the impact that our smaller school environment has on kids,
forming a unique and strong culture where students empathetically bond with each other and ensure mutual success.
students with a variety of talents and abilities benefit from a supportive, encouraging environment catered to their growth.
we are also an honors campus with project-based learning that develops skills beyond study,
allowing us to network, thrive in adulthood with confidence. I can confidently say our extracurriculars,
model un, deca, and award-winning production are powerfully managed, changing the course of lives.
to remove our choice, moving us to chs' overwhelming environment, ignores the larger issue at hand.
do not reduce us to numbers or ignore the calls from parents who have moved here for their children's education.
please don't overlook us as you make your difficult choice. Thank you very much. >> thank you. Then kartik gopisetti.
if you're here, come on down. Katan patel, rona.
you all can just line up just behind the podium, if you want.
then sierra ford will be after rona.
go ahead. I'll catch up if we're out of order.
>> thank you. My name is katan patel, 1301 otter way.
I am a proud parent of two students at austin elementary.
first of all, I don't envy your decision, but moreover, I don't understand your decision.
I am a numbers person and I look at the enrollments at austin elementary at 496.
it is the fifth highest enrollment within the school district.
if you're saying you're trying to adjust schools based on low enrollment,
I don't know why you would cut out in the middle. That doesn't make sense.
logistically, you're creating more of a challenge for yourself. Same thing with wilson.
it's at 482. It's number six on your list. The logic is perplexing and I don't get it.
I do understand you have hard choices to make, but I feel like there's something else related to these numbers or your logic.
whatever the decisioning is, I don't understand. It's also concerning that the schools that are being
targeted seem to be in the southwest sector and nowhere else.
I don't understand, again, if everything was on the table. Thank you.
>> thank you.
>> good evening. I'm rona dalman. I live at 208 olympia lane.
our family was reluctantly looking for alternative options outside of csid for both of
my younger sons before we found pinkerton with the ib program and when the other one was accepted to the wilson dli program.
moving the dli program to denton creek far from the growing population in the south will make it inaccessible for many,
potentially jeopardizing its continuation. Losing this unique offering would remove a key attraction to
the district and important financial funding from the state. We should consider some alternative options apart from closures.
I believe open enrollment could help bring in more students and funding as well as lobbying the legislature if we are giving time to do so.
additionally, we should investigate why some families who are still living in coppell are leaving the school district.
maybe provide exit surveys to those families and find out the reasons for their leaving and then address those.
I urge you to consider these impacts and explore creative solutions that support both our current students and future growth. Thank you.
>> hello. My name is sierra ford. I live at 800 powell drive. Thank you for the floor.
thank you for the time and skills you give to your, our community.
you've all been entrusted with leading our community's education and the opportunities we're afforded by this education.
coppell has a diverse population. It also has a high cost of living and many students with the means to seek alternative education,
which is pretty exceptional. As a parent who was lost in a public school system not as affluent as this one,
I had the resolve to home school until I moved here. Pinkerton returned my faith that the public school system is worth fighting for,
because it can be unique with choice programming thanks to dedicated public service.
you could all be private administration or on private school boards,
but you know education should be public. As dr. Caviness pointed out with the voucher legislation that we've all been fighting,
maybe we need to also play a longer game because there have been things being set
up that maybe not all of us knew how to lobby against. Thank you for your time.
>> thank you, sierra. I want to make sure.
I know there was a couple of names I called and I don't think anybody came for that.
I just want to make sure if you signed up to speak, and you missed your spot or I missed you.
jazmetha tumala, kartik gopisetti.
I think I'm saying it right. It's 10558 duckling drive.
then p. Jeanie christian at 1365 otter way.
if they're in the lobby, I'll just I'll give a second in case.
I don't want to miss anybody that did make it here to sign up.
anybody in here who signed up that I didn't call? Are we all good?
>> I'm assuming that mrs. Snowden left to go check and see.
while mrs. Snowden is checking the lobby to see if there was anybody that was omitted from open forum,
I just want to thank all of the community members, our students, our parents, any staff members that spoke tonight.
I do appreciate you all sharing your thoughts and your feelings.
these are difficult decisions for all of us, and I know it takes a lot to get up in front of a group and speak.
are any of these individuals? >> well, then that will conclude our open forum session.
again, as dr. Hunt was saying, thank you all for your kindness and being gracious to everybody here. Now is your opportunity.
we'll make this the interactive part. If you want to stretch, clap your hands, do something real quick.
we're going to transition right on into our work session.
but now thank all the kids for being here and speaking too. Thank, you all. [applause] with that,
as we're transitioning in and out, we'll move right into our work session,
which is a continuation of the discussion that we started last week,
which is our 7.11, our strategic plan implementation and our facility evaluation recommendations.
with that, dr. Hunt, I will turn it over to you. >> I hope that people did not take mr.
caviness' comments about get up and stretch as get up and leave, because we want you to stay here and listen,
because I know that a lot of the questions that you all had in open forum were
things that were shared last week and also some of those questions are going to be answered tonight.
I also again want to reiterate my gratitude for you all for sharing your thoughts and your feelings.
these are very emotional decisions. They are very tough on all of us. I just think it's important for us to stay engaged as a community.
that's one of our core values. It's always nice to put a name with the face too,
because many of you have been sending emails, we've received a lot, and some of you I knew already for some of the emails,
but some of you I got to meet tonight through your voices. Thank you for that, and I know the board members appreciate that as well.
our focus tonight is a continuation of the work that we've been doing actually for months,
but specifically what was shared last monday regarding our building tomorrow together work,
and the work of the 711 action team that was created from the last october strategic plan work,
and some of that will be reviewed tonight. As we said last week, and we'll reiterate tonight,
our priority focus is to ensure that we are taking care of the needs of all of our students,
our employees, and our families. These are difficult decisions and changing schools or
moving schools or anything related to a school is very, very hard. We take our children and our money both very seriously.
those are two topics that people have a lot of opinions about, and so we want to make sure that we're taking care of our students,
our families, and our cisd instructional family as well.
we want to make sure that our teachers and staff are being taken care of through this process as well.
we do have several of our team members that will be sharing information tonight.
as we transition to the next slide, I want to once again reiterate our core values of great teaching,
relationships, redefining, success, and engagement. Engagement is one of our core values.
it's important that we're engaging with the community. Some of you have been on this journey with us for several years.
this is really not a new topic for us, but for the last few months,
and our focus really has been on what our next steps will be.
I know that some of you have really plugged in, and so thank you again for being involved in this process.
this work is aligned to our strategic design work and our strategic planning work, like I said,
which we really focused on last october, but really is the foundation that began
eight years ago as my first year as superintendent in this district. We're focusing on the long term goals of cisd,
looking at a long term plan, our 2030 plan, and part of that does have to do with all of our facilities as we
review those and looked at efficiencies and ways that we can move forward. It's also aligned with our community-based accountability system,
or cvas, we have seven pillars that are connected to this work as well.
as we look at our work tonight, I'm going to ask ms. Angela brown,
our chief communications officer, to come forward and review budget priorities,
and take us through the next step of our work tonight. >> good evening. I am angela brown.
I'm the district's chief communications officer, and we'll be sharing more about what we began sharing last week.
as the district began this work, you, the board, established these priorities in 22/23.
you reaffirmed them in february of 2024. As we continue to work through these difficult conversations tonight,
let's keep our core values, as dr. Hunt shared, our strategic plan, and these budget priorities at the forefront of our minds in our discussion.
>> as a reminder, these are the options that are still on the table. The option of closing both pinkerton and austin was
removed by the board from those still being considered.
it was removed last week at the september 9th board meeting.
there has been one adjustment to the options based on current projections and working with our demographer.
the austin consolidation option, would include students being zoned to town center,
wilson, pinkerton, lakeside, and also mockingbird.
this adjustment allows for efficient utilization of our campuses, neighborhood schools, and walkability.
the options are consolidate austin with town center, wilson, pinkerton, lakeside, and mockingbird.
this plan includes consolidating the austin campus with campuses in close proximity,
moving the dual language immersion program and the bilingual pre-k program to denton creek elementary,
leveling the pre-k enrollment district wide, adjusting attendance zones at campuses including town center, lakeside, wilson,
mockingbird and denton creek, and that would have a net cost savings of $2.6 million.
the next option is to consolidate pinkerton with wilson and austin.
this plan includes moving the international baccalaureate program to wilson, moving the dual language immersion program and bilingual pre-k programs to denton creek,
leveling the pre-k enrollment district wide, and adjusting attendance zones,
including denton creek, the town center, cottonwood creek, and lakeside based on enrollment,
with a net cost savings of 2.1 million. The next option is to consolidate new tech with
coppell high school and coppell high school ninth grade center.
this plan includes consolidating the new tech students into chs and chs 9,
with a net cost savings of 2.1 million. The next option is a consolidation of the dual language immersion program to one campus.
this option includes consolidating dli and the bilingual pre-k program into
denton creek elementary campus with the net cost savings of $288,000.
the final option is leveling our pre-k program, which includes leveling enrollment across the district for efficiency and class sizes,
neighborhood schools of students. This plan has no substantial financial cost savings,
but does increase efficiency. >> last week, the board asked us for more information about our fund balance,
and so some of the questions that y'all had last week, and also input that we've received from the community are
where we've based some of our updates on these slides. Our chief financial officer,
ms. Diana sircar is going to talk to us more about the fund balance. >> good evening. Thank you, dr. Hunt. Good evening, board.
my name is diana sircar, and I serve as the chief financial officer.
what is fund balance? The fund balance grows when the district receives more revenue in than it spends,
and the fund balance declines when the district spends more than it receives in revenue.
the fund balance is not really like a savings account, it's more like a checking account.
funds are spent out of that account all year long, and the funds that come in are tax revenues.
coppell isd relies on tax revenue collections to provide
the majority of the revenue for the entire school year. Business and residential tax payments are not due until january 31st.
the district must have a fund balance of approximately four months of
expenditures in order to have enough cash on hand to pay for all of its teachers,
staff, and other operating expenditures from september through december.
the metric that's used to measure fund balance is fund balance as a percent of total expenditures.
as the district's total expenditures grow, the amount of dollars in fund balance needs to grow to keep pace.
let's examine the district's fund balance as a percent of total expenditures.
on this slide, you'll see the blue bars represent the fund balance as a percent of total expenditures for each year.
you can see that prior to 2011, the district did not have a healthy fund balance.
it took a number of years to build up the fund balance over 40%.
we'll talk about why a minimum fund balance of 40% is important on the next slide.
you can see that the district's fund balance has been as high as around 50/51% in 2014,
and despite the actual dollars increasing in the fund balance,
the fund balance is a percent of total expenditures that had remained in relatively the same range since 2012.
as the district's expenditures have increased, the fund balance has been maintained to support these expenditures.
note that as of '22/'23, the fund balance has dropped closer to the 40% line.
fund balance provides districts with the flexibility to manage cash.
it is also used to handle emergencies, such as expenses incurred when the district faces events such as the 2021 winter storm,
or even damage from hailstorms. The district also needs cash to pay
upfront for all expenditures under the federal grants, as districts must apply for
reimbursement to those grants after the expenses are incurred.
the district pays for all expenditures for certain technology infrastructure that is later reimbursed by the federal government.
there are also other amounts that the district reserves in cash to comply with federal grants.
this slide shows the district's fund balance in four categories.
the blue section of the bar represents the amount of cash that the texas education agency recommends the district have on hand,
which would allow the district to cover at least two-and-a-half months of expenditures.
tea also monitors the district's fund balance, and if there's a decline of 25% over three years,
they believe it indicates financial instability.
the red section of the bar indicates the fund balance needed on top of the tea
recommended minimum that provides four months of operating expenditures.
this is the minimum amount of cash needed between september and december to pay employees and pay operating costs.
the yellow section of the bar on top of the red and blue bars,
is the minimum amount that our financial advisor indicates is necessary to maintain the district's credit rating of aa+.
it is about four-and-a-half months of total expenditures.
credit ratings are important, because a high credit rating helps to keep interest rates
down on the bonds that the district issues. Lower credit ratings end up costing all taxpayers more,
because the interest rates on the bonds are higher. These increased costs to taxpayers are long-term costs,
since bonds are repaid over 30 years. Credit ratings are determined by a number of factors,
but one extremely important factor is fund balance. Credit rating agencies question any drawdown of fund balance,
but are more understanding of one time draws, such as for capital items,
or to address emergencies like hailstorms. The agencies are critical if a fund balance is drawn down to offset operating deficits.
they get concerned that the district is using fund balance to pay for everyday expenditures,
and, it may be indicative of a trend of operating deficits.
for example, the district's credit rating was lower in 2007 when there was not enough fund balance,
and improved to aa+ around 2014, once the fund balance grew to exceed 40% of total expenditure.
finally, the green section of the bar indicates
the amount of fund balance the district has over the minimum 40%.
you can see that prior to 2011, the district didn't have a strong fund balance.
in fact, in some of those years,
it barely had enough to meet minimum cash flow needs.
it has taken years to build up that fund balance. The cfo, prior to me,
started a process to build up fund balance, to provide more cash flexibility for the district,
to increase the district's credit rating, and to assure the financial stability of the district.
looking at the actual dollars needed to meet the various minimums to operate the district,
and to maintain the credit rating, the district has only about $7 million remaining in the green fund balance.
the district fiscal year runs from september 1st to august 31st.
this means that the financials for the '23/'24 school year are undergoing year end accounting entries
and being prepared for the independent auditor, to examine and make final adjustments.
as of today, the district anticipates realizing a $6.8 million deficit for the 2023/'24 fiscal year.
this will reduce the fund balance by $6.8 million. Remember that that final number could adjust based upon any auditor adjustments.
the problem with realizing one deficit, is that, the fund balance starts getting impacted very
quickly if expenditures are not reduced immediately. Let's look at that potential impact.
the district has reduced many budgeted expenditures, which will be covered in a later slide.
but based upon these reductions, and the projected enrollment as of the spring of 2024,
the projection for the fund balance is indicated on this slide. Recognize that enrollment is currently 176
students less than we budgeted for the '24/'25 school year.
these projections are a bit optimistic. The projection includes $2.5 million in expenditure savings each year,
and also includes the $2.4 million in revenue if the vader election is passed in november,
as that will be recurring revenue each year. The projection includes a 3% cost of living adjustment for teachers and staff,
and 3% in our contracted services such as our bus transportation.
all other expenditure categories have no increase. You can see that by the end of the current school year '24/'25,
the district will not have the full 40% that is recommended to retain
the aa+ credit rating indicated by that orange bar below the $0 line.
by the end of '26/'27, the district will not meet the minimum required cash flow,
as indicated by the orange and the teal bars below that $0 line.
by the end of '27/'28, the district will not have the tea recommended minimum.
in this scenario, fund balance will have reduced by over 25% by the end of 2025/'26.
remember that the texas education agency considers a 25% reduction in fund balance,
over three years as an indication of financial instability. In addition, credit rating agencies would consider the district's credit rating,
costing taxpayers more to issue the bonds that have been approved.
credit ratings don't take long to go down, but it can take years to improve credit ratings.
the long term implications of a reduction in credit ratings would cost cisd taxpayers for many years.
the district's fund balance has provided some ability for the major budget decisions facing the board,
to be thoughtfully considered and carried out. But the time for action is now.
the district will use nearly seven million of fund balance due to the realized deficit from '23/'24.
the district has reduced expenditures, but even with the possible $2.4 million in funds from the vader,
the district still has significant work to do to reduce overall expenses.
by making decisions that provide sustainable reductions in expenses,
the board can help further erosion of the fund balance.
the previous slide showed the potential reduction of fund balance if further expense reductions are not made.
this slide details some of the potential impacts. These are impacts that have been seen in
coppell isd when the district had little fund balance, or have been experienced recently
in other districts that did not have a strong fund balance, and are facing some of the same challenges as coppell isd.
credit rating agencies will credit the $7 million negative impact of fund balance from '23/'24.
if the district has a solid plan to reduce expenditures,
we may be able to retain the strong rating. If we do not have a strong plan for significant sustainable reductions and expenditures,
they will likely take action to reduce the rating. As mentioned earlier, credit rating, agencies
understand the emergency use of fund balance, but using it to cover recurring operating expenses is not in their opinion an emergency.
in addition, if the district takes 13 million more out of the fund balance between this school year and the '25/'26 school year,
the tea will consider the district in a position of financial risk.
texas school funding is determined by the texas legislature,
and is based on the average daily attendance of enrolled students. One often anticipates the legislative cycle
in hopes of improved funding for texas schools. However, we cannot pin our hopes that the legislator will provide
enough funding to address the significant issues facing texas schools.
the 89th legislative session will be held in 2025.
typically, sessions last through the summer, and sometimes special sessions are added onto the original session to continue the work.
new legislation takes time to be implemented. Some law changes are relatively simple to interpret and to implement,
and yet others take much longer. For example, it took over 18 months for the texas education agency to interpret
and implement all of the changes in school funding that came from the 86th legislative session.
while the legislative session is going on, the district creates a budget for the next school year,
and while these are happening concurrently, the district has to be sure that the legislation
is passed prior to including it in the budget. For example, during the 88th session,
that was the last session we just finished, there was significant proposed legislation to increase or update school funding.
however, very little legislation was actually passed, so districts did not see much additional funding.
in the spring of each year, it's common for school districts to offer
returning teachers a contract for the next school year. This means that major decisions that impact staffing must
be made in the fall and winter of the prior school year.
the district's budget must be adopted in august. The budget is typically determined and adopted
before the result of any changes in the law. Often, the budget needs to be amended during
the school year if there are changes in the law.
>> the basic allotment of $6,160 per student has not been increased since 2019.
we've discussed the impact of cumulative inflation and the need to provide our teachers and staff with livable wages.
during the last legislative session in 2023, there were bills to increase the basic allotment.
some were for $50, $90 or $140, but none of them passed.
in constant dollars accounting for inflation, the basic allotment would need to increase by $1,200-1,400 to give
school districts the same buying power that they had after a major change in school funding that occurred in 2019/20.
it takes approximately $3 million to meet
the board's priority of providing teachers and staff with a cost of living increase.
based on the current staffing, the basic allotment would need to increase by approximately $200
each year for coppell isd to continue to provide that cost of living increase.
however, a $200 increase in the basic allotment would not address
the entire deficit projected for the 2024/25 school year.
>> last week, you all asked us to recap some of the expenditure reductions that we've already done.
I do get that a lot from community members as well, especially some of those that might not have been as plugged in over these past six,
eight months that we've been working on this. I did ask ms. Sakar to not only go over the expenditure part,
but ms. Brown to come up and talk about what we've been trying to do to generate additional revenue.
>> the district has worked to reduce expenditures over the past few years,
and some of the examples of ways in which expenditures have been reduced or detailed on this slide.
for the 24/25 school year specifically, efforts were taken to reduce as many positions as possible through attrition.
the reductions were kept as far away from the classroom as possible, however, some teaching positions were reduced,
based on lower enrollment. The reduction of positions has meant that other employees in
the district have had to pick up the duties of the positions that were reduced,
causing additional stress upon the entire system.
despite the reduction of expenses, there were also required increases in expenses as inflationary pressures
have increased the cost of insurance of supplies and of contracted services.
in addition, many districts in the state are facing a nearly 50% decrease in
revenue from the sars program that reimburses the district for providing services to qualifying students.
the next slide will detail ways in which coppell isd has worked to increase revenues.
over the past few years, the district has been working to increase revenues.
most notably, the marketing team has been targeting efforts to increase enrollment district wide,
and to increase the attendance rate since the district's funding is mainly based on the average daily attendance of our enrolled students.
there are other sources of revenues, some of which are listed on this slide.
they include applying for available grants, generating revenue by renting out district facilities and assets,
working with business partners to provide not only donations of cash,
but also in-kind donations of time and talent to support students,
our classrooms, our campuses, and district needs. You, the board, also called for
a voter approved tax ratification election on november the 5th, 2024, to increase the m&o tax rate by 3.17 pennies,
which could provide 2.4 in additional revenue. >> before we jump into discussion,
I did want to point out once again to the board that open enrollment has been expanded over the past few years and we have seen an increase there,
which has been helpful. But because I do know we get a question about that quite a bit from community,
both in favor of it, but also with some reservations about it. But instead of just asking questions,
we wanted to let you all have some conversations since this is a work shop for our board,
and so the next slide is an opportunity for you all to discuss what has been shared or anything else that's on your mind.
>> you can go. >> you covered why we can't increase open enrollment plainly.
what are the limiting factors for open enrollment?
>> I'll address this and then, if any of my friends or colleagues want to jump in, they can feel free.
open enrollment, we have to be very strategic and careful about how we do it because the goal is that,
we don't that we use available seats and that we don't increase staffing.
if we allow in some students, and we go over the number of projected students, and it's by grade level.
we have to be very careful that we're doing it across different classrooms and grade levels.
if we have too many, then we'll have to add staffing, and that defeats the purpose of bringing in our open enrollment.
we've been very strategic in how we do that, and we have increased on the number of open enrollment students,
but we've been very careful how we're doing that so that we're being fiscally responsible in our use of open enrollment.
I think I do well. >> basically, if we blindly open it,
it could actually increase our cost and reduce the revenue rather than increasing the revenues,
so that can be very specific that we only fill the open seats.
otherwise, if we add 10 students, we might have to hire another teacher for those 10 students,
and the overall cost of that one fde might be more than the revenue we get from those 10 students.
>> exactly. It definitely would be. Adding one teacher, we need to at least have half the students in that class.
we would have to bring in 10 per grade level per campus. That's very strategic. Remember that when we're bringing in students,
we're not just bringing in elementary to fill those available seats, that we're getting about 50/50.
about 50% of our open enrollment students are in the secondary level. It's not just at the elementary level.
we have to be careful, and that's where we don't have the same room that we have at the elementary level.
we have to be very strategic how we handle open enrollment, but we are carefully considering that,
and we have made significant gains in that area filling those available seats.
>> also one of the factors as we look at our campuses and efficiencies is,
because open enrollment students are not eligible for transportation,
parents are required to bring them to school, and sowe also want to make sure that as
our opportunities grow for open enrollment that we do have those seats available,
and to ms. Brown's point, not adding additional staff members to then increase our expenses.
>> one more follow up question since we heard about this in the open forum quite a bit.
I know we covered this in the last workshop, but since we have a lot of new audience here.
for the benefit of community, could you, again, at a high level go over all or most of the factors that were covered in
the rubric that led to the five choices which we have,
which only pinpoints to certain schools and not all the remaining 17th schools or 18 schools?
>> excellent question. Remember, the rubric was developed by a group of community members, parents, staff members,
who came together, some of those who served on the strategic plan committee,
raised their hand to be a part of that. Then others said, I would like to serve on as well.
that group of individuals developed this. They looked at, there's a rubric and then there's a decision filter.
in the rubric, they looked at the operational factors, and there were several operational factors inside of there.
they looked at transportation, they looked at utilization, they looked at utility costs.
then there were learning programmatic factors that they looked at. They looked at neighborhood schools.
they looked at proximity. They looked at lots of different variables.
then that was a part of the rubric. Then the next stage that was the decision filter.
that's really harder to quantify, but data points. Really, that's really thinking strategically.
you take every option, and you look through the filter, the lens of.
that's the impact to students, the impact to staff, the disruptive nature of the change.
that's really where you look at. Is it solution based? Is it forward focusing?
those are the factors then that you go through in the decision filter, and then that is what led to us bringing forward through lots of data,
but then robust discussions, and really looking at all of the pieces that come together,
and that's where we brought you the options that we did. >> in chart, it's not just about numbers.
there were a lot of subjective factors which were put in which would mean considering the situations we are in,
and some of the tough decisions we have to make considering all those. It will put to make a stronger cisd for the years to come.
it's not just about efficiency of one factor.
>> we felt like it's important that the committee felt like it's important to have a balanced approach,
that if we just were looking at numbers and data that that isn't the real story of coppell isd.
that's where the committee wanted to develop the decision filter. Really looking at it through various lenses.
each option was looked at through those different lenses that we've talked about. I think it was forward facing strategic solution focused,
and I think that's where the robust discussion came from with the evaluation team and then with the district level.
>> I'll say it again, you guys have done a tremendous job of taking hundreds and thousands of those data points and the stories,
and brought it in a very abstract, not abstract,
but comprehensible abstraction layer that even a common community member who is not plugged in on a daily basis can understand,
and I know it took thousands and thousands of hours for staff. Thank you for all the hard work you've been doing over the last few months.
>> thank you. We have a great team. >> angela, well, you were talking on the rubric. I think you mentioned this back in may or june when we were,
I guess, maybe looking at the first iteration, but speaking of the committee, I mean, I remember,
you had mentioned one or two or maybe multiple members of the community that were on had actually do this for do it for a professional life.
>> we did. We have several members who, one in particular, this is what her job is every single day,
is working for, not in education, but in outside of education,
working for consolidation and mergers. Looking at how do you consolidate businesses,
and what are the factors that you look at. It was her idea that she brought forward to
the committee to talk about the decision filter. In their job, that's what they have.
they look at the data, but then they look at the whole big picture, and that allows that thoughtful nature of it.
>> thank you. Nicole, I think is you. >> I have just two quick questions for diana,
and they're clarifying questions that I know the answer to,
but I would love for you to answer. My first question is, do we have a rainy day fund or is that a state of texas term?
my second question to you, because it looks obvious when you look at the timeline of
when the legislature meets and when we approve budgets, that we could change the timing of when we approve the budget,
but is that dictated by law when we have to pass the budget in the tax rate?
>> yes. To answer the second question,
the district is obliged to adopt to the budget in august.
our fiscal year is september 1 through august 31st.
the tax rate, we typically adopt at the same time as the budget because that's the discussion that the tax rate will support the budget.
the tax rate could actually be adopted in september legally, but we tend to do it at the same time.
to answer the question, do we have a rainy day fund? I likened it more to a checkbook,
because we have to spend so much money out of our checkbook all the
way through from september to december before we start getting those tax revenues in.
those tax revenues help bring our balance back up, but we are required to have a lot of cash on hand to support all of our expenditures.
that was really that graph that shows as a percent of our total expenditures,
how tea, and how other entities measure our fund balance.
>> really, it's our score card of how we're evaluated financially.
>> very true. >> thank you. >> going back to that chart, and that was beautiful.
I know you have explained it in so many ways, but that was one of the best way to explain the rainy fund.
the whole 70+ million is not rainy fund,
and as you said, it's not right to take it as an absolute number,
but rather a percentage of our revenue or expenditure, not revenue.
if you have to say the expenditure which we are expected to
incur before we get the tax funds in december from the state.
besides all that checking amount, we have to write, the rainy fund is about just $7 million,
which we will use this year. We have to make decision.
we have postponed this conversation for many years. This is the absolute last year where we have to make
some tough decision if we are not to impact our long-term credit rating,
because that will affect tens of millions of dollars for cisd for years to come if that happens.
is that correct statement? >> that is correct. We have been talking about decisions like this for many years.
as I said, the fund balance that we had allowed this to be very thoughtfully considered and gave
the board the time to postpone making this decision last year or postpone making this decision two years ago.
but now is when, as you said, we are running up where we have $7 million left of that fund that we can spend,
and that could very easily be utilized in the 24/25 school year,
if not the next. >> that is not that water would pass this year.
that is the 2.4 million dollar optimistic assumption that water would pass.
I know after some of these tough decisions, our board's next job would be to start
promoting the need for water in the november election, because that is very critical for us to maintain good credit ratings.
>> is there any other discussion or questions while we're at this point?
>> there's been a lot of discussion about enrollment, elementary,
and secondary, and we have a little bit of information that we would like to share to set the stage for this next piece.
>> before we look at district enrollment, we want to share information about k-12 public school enrollment across our nation.
this information was reported in education week in june 2024,
using data from the national center for education statistics. Declining enrollment is occurring across our nation.
america is projected to have three million fewer k-12 students attending public school by 2031 than it did in 2013.
there were six states that saw their overall population
grow by more than 3% between 2020 and 2023.
those states were idaho, florida, montana, south carolina, utah, and texas.
federal researchers are projecting public school enrollment increases
between 2022 and 2031 for all of these states except texas,
where they expect there to be a decrease of 9%.
the article mentioned declining birth rates and school choice as reasons for
the decline in the k-12 public school enrollment across the nation.
keep this in mind as we look forward to our own enrollment.
>> good evening. I'm kristin eichel, and I'm one of the assistant superintendents here in coppell.
as ms. Brown said, we'd like to once again, take a look at our coppell isd enrollment.
the chart that you see before you shows the historical utilization of the elementary campuses.
you can see how the elementary schools were reaching their comfortable capacity in total in
the 2013/2014 school year prior to richard j lee opening in 2014/2015.
during this period of growth, the school board decided to build a new elementary school in the southern area.
you can see how elementary use of capacity was increasing until 1920 when canyon ranch opened.
as we all know, shortly after the pandemic hit,
and during and since the pandemic, elementary enrollment statewide has decreased.
the district's demographer often states that the world has changed since the pandemic,
and districts are seeing the impact of lower enrollment.
now, let's add the projected elementary enrollment to
see its impact on utilization of our elementary schools.
this chart uses the demographic projections that were presented in the spring of the last school year.
utilization of the elementary schools will drop below 75% if no action is taken.
updated demographic projections are being completed now based
upon cisd's current enrollment for this school year.
the demographer indicates that elementary enrollment looks to be declining more than anticipated in what this spring report shows.
let's continue to examine elementary enrollment a bit closer.
remember that canyon ranch was planned as part of the 2016 bond
to respond to the continued growth that the district was experiencing,
and was projected to continue. We now know that the district does not need as many elementary seats as it currently has.
in the 22/23 and 23/24 school years,
elementary enrollment was just over 5,700 students.
the same as it was in the 2018/19 school year as shown by the purple bars on this chart.
since the 2018/19 school year, the district has added the fixed costs of
one additional elementary school for the same number of students.
these students could all be comfortably enrolled in 10 elementary schools instead of the 11 that are currently being used.
a lot of questions have come in about the impact of the cyprus water development,
so we'd like to address that this evening. The cypress waters development is a planned community that is over 40% complete,
including commercial and residential building and infrastructure.
there are often questions about the impact of the development on cisd school enrollment.
there are legal restrictions on the developer that requires that
at least 75% of the apartments have no more than one bedroom.
there are also no plans for single family housing in cypress waters.
this decreases the yield or number of students that are expected out of this development.
according to the developers at cypress waters, there are currently 2,958 finished residential units.
the district as a whole, has a yield of 0.436 students per apartment.
the yield in cypress waters is about 0.194.
significantly fewer students come out of the apartments at cypress waters than out of our other apartment complexes in the district.
there are currently 282 elementary students and
291 secondary students attending our schools from cypress waters.
this development is averaging about 250 units per year.
given a yield of 0.194, we would expect a yield of about 49 students per year.
assuming the current trend that half for elementary students,
that is an additional 24 elementary students per school year based on the growth of cypress waters.
in the spring of 2024, the district's demographer projected an average reduction in
overall elementary enrollment of 96 per year. Current conversations indicate that it could be higher.
the district has enough elementary capacity to absorb this yield coming out of cypress waters.
a yield of 0.194 equals 1,940 students at full build-out of this area.
once again, student yield measures the number of students that are enrolled in our district from the total number of homes within the district.
demographic reports show that the yield of students from housing within the district has declined over the past eight years.
when you look at our single family yield in 15/16, it was 0.729, and for last year, it was 0.699.
our apartment yield has decreased from 0.485 to 0.436.
in 15/16, our demographer broke out our manufactured home yield,
but that is now currently included in that apartment yield.
a number of questions and comments have arisen since
the last board workshop related to class sizes and a concern that with consolidation,
class sizes would increase. We would like to share that, in general,
class sizes will not increase based on school consolidation.
in elementary, class sizes in pre-kindergarten to fourth grade are based on a 22 students to one teacher staffing ratio.
this is determined by the texas education agency.
we do have the ability to go over that 22 to one, but that does require a waiver that's brought before you as a board to vote on.
we do have circumstances where we bring a couple of waivers each year.
we may have mid year, a family move in, and we end up with 23 students for a class.
we bring that to you because we want our families to continue to be able to attend their neighborhood schools.
but in general, that is not something that we have put into place here in coppell isd in recent years.
in fifth grade, there's no state average, but we do staff at 2 to one.
with the older students, in many cases, at fifth grade, they're rotating classes,
and can handle a little bit larger classes and the responsibilities. We do have some cases right now where we're above that 25 to one,
26, we even have one or two sections that are currently 27.
but again, we make those decisions independently based on the needs of each campus.
I'd like to state that as of today, the schools under consideration,
pinkerton elementary currently has class sizes that range between 18
and go up to 22 students per class in pre-kindergarten or in kindergarten through fifth grade.
there's not pre-kindergarten on that campus. Austin elementary currently has class sizes between 18 and 25.
they do have pre-kindergarten through fifth grade currently. In general, currently, our elementary class sizes
range from 17 in pre-k to fourth grade,
and up to as high as I mentioned 27 at the fifth grade level.
there are a few exceptions that are a little bit lower than that, but we have no class sizes at elementary that are above that 27 at fifth grade.
on our elementary campuses, we have empty classrooms.
consolidation will allow us to fill empty classrooms with teachers and with students.
it will also allow us to move the few classes that are currently below the 15 to one ratio in line with
current class sizes of between 18-22 for pre-k to fourth,
and between 25 and 27 for fifth grade.
we also wanted to take a moment and provide some clarity about
secondary class sizes as well as this chart that was presented last week.
as with the elementary campuses, in general, average class sizes will not increase based on school consolidation.
class sizes in the core classes are based on a 30 students to one teacher staffing ratio.
an elective and special program classes at the high school do vary by the program.
of course, fine arts and athletics are going to see larger class sizes and more coaches and teachers participating.
some of the specialized classes do have smaller numbers. For efficient staffing models,
all secondary classes should have a minimum of 15 students for the class to make.
when you look at this chart of classes that do not meet our efficient staffing model at each of our high schools,
you can see that almost half of the classes at new tech do not meet the standard when
compared with 7-8% of the classes at chs9 and chs not meeting the standard.
if new tech high coppell is consolidated into chs9 and chs,
75 students can be easily absorbed into the 369 classes offered at chs9,
and that's been about the average freshman class size in recent years, without overcrowding or changing the staffing model,
and 224 students can be easily absorbed into the 1,061 classes at chs.
>> a lot of questions last week about our staff members, our educators, especially.
I have had our hr team work on what those plans are going to look like,
and so we're going to hear a little bit more about that with ms. Duke. >> thank you. Good evening,
my name is karen duke, and I'm the executive director of human resources.
tonight, we would like to reaffirm information that we shared last week regarding
the plans for our employees if the board chooses to consolidate a school program.
if a campus is consolidated, the human resources team will share plans with
those employees that are impacted as early as possible. The plans will include the process for placing staff in positions and
the supports that the district will provide for staff members impacted by the changes.
timing is one of the important factors to the human resources plan.
the earlier that decisions are made, the earlier that employees will know where they will be placed,
based to the greatest extent possible on choice and their preference.
then as other positions become available throughout the spring and summer,
there will be a process to make adjustments again according to preference.
>> good evening. My name is stephanie flores, executive director for intervention services.
as a district, we have a process for learners with unique needs when they transfer to a new campus.
learners needs are communicated, and the individual plans are shared with the receiving campus.
we have a continuum of services to meet learner needs, and that includes centralized programs for support.
we make adjustments each year by adding more classes or moving a program from one campus to another as needs change.
with any campus consolidation, we will be able to continue to meet learner needs and special programs.
>> lots of questions too about community engagement and what we've been doing to make sure that the community has been involved.
as I said last week, even though we've been working on this really for months,
and then in some regards for years, until you hear the name of your school,
it doesn't really become a reality. Some people were thinking, you're only focusing on elementary schools because of decline in elementary enrollment,
and if my school has a high number, then it's not going to be considered. That was one factor, like ms. Brown said,
but it was also age of the building, all those other things that were mentioned too. Secondary is a part of this as well.
I did want to reiterate what we have been doing, and then also continue to let the community know that we're still getting input.
we had lots of speakers tonight, we're getting emails, we have a big event coming up,
and so ms. Brown's going to touch on that. >> between september the 6th and 13th,
cisd received 336 total consolidation emails, but that is the topic.
seventy-seven of those were duplicates. There were 259 individual emails sent to the input email account regarding consolidation.
the emails included feedback, input, and questions. We are going to continue to collect
the feedback and the input received from our community. Marie consented to input at coppell.isd.com throughout this entire process.
>> does that have any thoughts,
comments, questions for staff over this section of what we've talked about? Go.
>> I mean, I'm glad, ms. Brown, that you mentioned that we've been, and dr. Hunt, you did too.
I mean, I know how shocking and jarring these things can be.
I had a student at elementary when the decision was made to close in elementary.
I don't know whether that was 18 years ago, 16 years ago. I know trustee hill was on the board making those hard decisions.
I know how it feels. We're all parents in this room up
here who have kids in school or have had kids in many of the campuses here,
but it doesn't change the fact that the legislature powers
at b have been working on a plan to unfund us since 2006, 2010.
if you're just now realizing this, I'm sorry for the jarring experience,
but I mean, that's part of what has precipitated our conversations for the last three years.
I have appreciated the feedback and input from our community,
suggesting that we see what the legislature does, and candidly, at this table,
job and rena weren't on the board yet, but we made the decision two years ago to give
the legislature an opportunity to do the right thing. They haven't. When they have given us funding in the past,
and made a big pr splash about it, the reality is, they've taken something else away.
our net positive has been very minimal or in some subject areas negative.
as much as I hate to be having these conversations,
we are at a cross roads.
>> well, I would love for everything to stay the same. In our awesome school district,
the reality is those are not the choices that we are being faced with right now.
I think it is important to do what we can now to play offense
as much as possible and to protect what we have to the degree that we can.
that may mean that it has to look different. I regret that for some of our kids.
I also know in the time that my kids were in this district, things change and things do look different and life evolves and it's uncomfortable,
it's not always fun and it's not always our choice. I also know I have four thriving kids that went through that here in
the district and who made it through it.
my personal opinion is that we need to continue the conversations about
doing something that lets us fight another day. Lets us keep our programs and as many of
our great staff and all the things impossible that we can. I feel like looking at this from 30,000 feet and granted,
most of us have had three years to work through this and process this
and see what we hoped would happen that hasn't come to fruition.
but from 30,000 feet if we can keep things as similar as possible,
but in different locations and it lets us be flexible and do things and be creative and evolve,
as much as I hate that being the answer. I think for me, that is the conversation that we need to continue because I
think it is the best way that we can take care of the most number of kids.
I don't have all the answers tonight about what all of this would potentially look like depending upon what the board decides to do.
but I know we have a history of grandfathering in families.
we have a history of taking care of our people. We have a history, even when a campus was closed all
those years ago of helping people get placed in other districts. I have l tasb classmates in
other districts that have gone down to their minimum fund balance.
this year, they couldn't give pay raises and they lost great people and they had to pass a deficit budget,
and if everything doesn't go perfectly, they're going to be doing fire closings of schools and
doing things on a very time sensitive,
out of control, potentially situation. I feel like the one luxury we do have right now is
that we have been having this conversation for so long, that we have an opportunity to do it well,
and I hate what that means for campuses, but it is a community issue, and I just want to get through it as a community.
>> [inaudible] >> thank you for your comments. I'll add a couple of my thoughts regarding the legislature.
we as a board members have been advocating on behalf of public education on
behalf of coppell isd with our legislators for many years.
I personally met with our house state senators,
members of the education committee. I've seen every kind of response.
I've seen yes, we value public education and we are here to support our teachers.
but when it comes to their voting, it's all about vouchers in support of vouchers,
which directly undermines public education. I we've been lucky to have some good house representatives,
which I've held on to vouchers getting passed.
I say this because I was really encouraged with our community remarks of how many
of our community members said they want to take part in this fight.
I don't want a particular community member school
being there or not there be the only reason. This is not going to end with one school.
miss what state is doing? They will continue to squeeze public education.
we should not give up based on whatever the board decides over the next board meeting.
we have to take this as a wake up call and keep on advocating with our legislators.
the reality has been, as we heard that most of the bills hardly
cover the actual money needed to support the public education.
in spite of that, they keep on passing mandates about security which are extremely underfunded.
pk, they'll fund only 50%, but expect us to educate pk for the entire day.
there's a whole list of underfunded mandates which keep on coming.
let's take this, and that's my personal appeal to the community.
let's take this as a wake up call. We have to get the legislators who support public education elected and who are there.
we have to keep on appealing to them to support our public education because
public schools are the real things that bring the community together.
outside the legislator, I had one question regarding the previous slides, miss brown.
could you elaborate on what happens if regeneration happens?
if we are lucky enough to see some regeneration in coppell isd.
I know the board has taken the option of closing two elementary schools? We are looking at closing one elementary school if that passes.
what happens during that regeneration? What happens when some new student starts coming from cypress waters?
do we have capacity to accommodate any foreseeable positive regeneration?
>> definitely, and our demographer has taken that into account and as he's currently running numbers based off what we have.
he's taking that into account, and you can see from what we presented about cypress waters that
we do have the capacity more than the capacity to take in not just the 0.194 yield of cypress waters,
but even if we get a higher yield out of cypress waters, we have enough capacity to take those students in
and to educate them and fill our empty seats. We have the capacity for that.
even neighborhoods that begin to turnover. If you remember last meeting,
we talked about, we do have excess capacity. We have several hundred seats.
this year, we're already seeing a decline from what was projected for this school year.
we already are down. There is capacity. If our neighborhoods begin to turn over,
we do have that capacity even with closing one school. >> that number correct that if
the board decides to consolidate one of the elementary school,
there would be about capacity close to rough number about thousand elementary students? Yes.
>> yes. A little bit more than that actually. >> that's a huge growth,
we will have to see a huge percentage growth for us to maximize that available capacity.
>> correct. Because in future years, if you remember that chart, I'm doing it from memory that we showed last time,
14,000 1,500, 1,600 students as the years go on is what our capacity will become.
>> that is one of the main reason why we believe that consolidating one school
will not bring us close to increased class sizes at all.
>> correct. Remember, we're staffing right now 22-1. That's our staffing ratio for pre-k through fourth grade as miss achal just shared.
we currently staff at that rate and we will continue to staff at that rate.
>> then just piggybacking on that question and these comments when we're talking about class size,
the point that was made earlier, especially at our footprint schools,
those were designed for four and five class sections.
am I correct in that? Where we're extremely inefficient right now is we've got some of those sections.
>> some of those at 3:00 am cycle. >> now, you're absolutely correct.
we can very comfortably fit four and five sections per grade level at each of our footprint campuses.
there have been times we've gone up to even six classes. With the preliminary demographer projections with either of the consolidation options,
we would be looking at an average of 3-4 sections per grade level on any given campus.
there would be some pockets of five, but again, we would have the space to be able to meet that capacity.
>> thank you. Then I had made a note on, which was slide 21, but just showing the enrollment versus capacity.
I think two comments on that one, because I do remember the years leading up to canyon ranch.
I think I said this last week where we were at the upper 90s capacity in the district,
and we were overcrowded everywhere.
but I think the real takeaway from this chart is it shows just how quick a trend can change.
I know there's multiple factors in here when we consider covid and how it's changed,
remote work and people's ability to not have to relocate and things like that.
but guess my question why I was saying that,
to your point man, we did agree to take the two options off the table,
and I'm not advocating, we put that back on, but just looking at what we've talked about additional
today and that we're still [inaudible] I guess you guys still think one would put us in
a good spot that we wouldn't be say wouldn't, don't say never. But a high likelihood that we wouldn't
be coming back in a couple of years or three years,
thinking we may have to do this again. I guess that's my question if it makes sense. >> one elementary school.
>> yeah, if we do one now, would we? For certainty facing another one at some point in the future,
do we with our projections, think we can shore up what we need to in capacity with just one?
>> believe so, it's hard to predict. We don't have that crystal ball to your point about the slide that you referenced,
you can see where we had the [noise] capacity, almost even overcapacity.
I remember I was not superintendent. I was assistant soup, and that was when we were also using overflow.
we were busing children at different locations because there was no space at those schools,
and so that's when board student committee was formed. That's when the community voted to add another school in the southern part of
the district and a larger school too to help accommodate that fast growth.
we were a fast growth district at that time. I think in just continuing our practice of working closely with our demographer,
we're doing everything we can to ensure that we are addressing what we know today,
but it's so hard because we don't know what the future is going to hold. >> well, even nationally,
the trends are changing. Nationally, the trends are changing so quickly.
I think our demographers actually doing a great job. I remember when we switched demographers because
the previous one maybe wasn't doing such a great job, but I think we're all still figuring it all out from covid honestly.
>> listen, we're all parents in this room up here on the dios in the group.
I think something we always tell our children is you can't control the problems that come to you,
but you can control how you react to them. That's where we are right now.
I really appreciate the capacity building for our community,
and yet, when you look at this, the facts are the facts.
we can't change that, but we can decide and exert power in this room of how we're going to handle that.
I think we have some core values in line, where we have said we're going to take the emotion out of it as much as we can.
we're going to focus on a timeline being extremely transparent, thoughtful.
the words that I've heard you use miss brown and that have popped to me today is solution oriented and forward facing.
when I look at this, I think of, how can we turn our challenges truly into opportunities?
that's what I wanted to see. I wanted to see our community come together with our staff,
our subject matter experts, with us as another layer of filter,
and say, looking at this, we've all look at this. I don't know if you guys even seeing it again today,
it reinforces where we are and why we're here. But we're smart group of people that are engaged,
we can figure this out together. That's what this process has brought us to and these solutions that are presented to us.
nicole, I appreciate your emotion because I think it's what we all feel,
and as we talked about earlier, I think we've each had to take as we read these emails,
we feel every single one of them, so we get it. We get it. But the fact of the matter is
we have to exert control where we can exert control.
I think that's why we're having this conversation.
I'm really glad that we have the capacity, but I also am very proud of the fact that the district has taken all the emails and
taken all the feedback and tried and not tried and has answered them with facts responding.
now it comes to us to be the next layer, the next decision filter,
as it were, to decide how are we going to truly turn this challenge into an opportunity.
I have the slide deck in front of me. I know what's coming next as we look at,
and I will tell you that no matter how much money we have,
for me, I flip it. This is an efficiency issue for me at the elementary level.
it doesn't matter our job is to strategically,
I'm going to use your words, joby, is to strategically deploy our taxpayer dollars,
and you cannot do that inefficiently at the elementary school level. That's just the fact of the matter.
how can we make sure that the decisions that we make reinforce our programs and
our staff and our families and actually use this as an opportunity to get even better?
I think that's the conversation. But I'm really appreciative of all of the emails because I think it's made us
make sure that we're letting you guys know that we're walking along this together.
the questions that you ask, we need to answer.
the district needs to answer. That's why I think when we've talked about our timeline, that we have to have space between these meetings for us to process,
and more importantly for you guys to process. Because as you ask questions,
I think it helps us all. I wanted to say that out loud. I don't want to cut us off if for you,
but I'm interested in the next section because I think it
also deals with some of the specific questions with some of the options presented.
>> I want to expand on a comment you made, miss walker because we are a continual improvement district,
and we do take critical feedback. As much as I feel like we've been sending information out.
if there's a parent that comes to me and says, brad, I have no idea what you're talking about, we've got to take some responsibility for that.
again, you saw the slide, you saw we have sent out a lot of information.
I also know people say, brad, you may have sent 49 emails, but I only read two of them. We have to make sure that we are doing all we can
to continue to engage with all stakeholders. But I also know too, people are busy.
people are focused on what's happening right now, and people don't always get involved in some of these extra things that are going on.
we continue to employ the community, stay connected with us. Engagement is part of this process.
if there's things that we can do better, we're open to that. We lots of surveys.
some of these responses are from surveys that we've got from community staff, almost all stakeholders.
we could probably do more with students, but our kids are always plugged in and so I do appreciate them being involved.
but this is not an easy process for anybody. Nobody.
>> with that, I like to chime in at this point because when you look at the timeline of history,
and I always apologize for my voice, but you go back and you talk about
the things that have occurred over the time that I've been here. We've talked about elementary that was closed when I just joined the board.
we talked about in 2009, financial exigency, which is something that is a reduction in force.
you go to 2010, a tre was passed, which gave us the capacity to get to 2019,
because after that 2010, 2011, it was a reduction in the state funding of 5.4 billion plus.
this district lost $10 million in that biennium. Once again, you can't predict the future.
but one of the things that you can do is put in structures that allow you to adjust the changes that occur,
things that you know about and things that you have to adjust to on the fly. I think, when you look at where we are today,
it is a difficult time. You look at all the work that has been put in by staff,
community members, by students, by the community at large to get to this point.
now you got to say, we have to deconstruct something in order to maintain it going forward.
the other part of that to trustee sethi, working with the legislature has changed.
when I first join here, you could have conversations. Now that has changed where,
they are digging the hills in, in many ways. To have those conversations,
yes, let's go have those conversations. But please understand that they have a perspective that
is different than looks from the perspective here at the local level many times.
once again, you have to go through this with your eyes open, understanding that the things that you may want,
they may not want for you. That's why we're in a position that we're in here looking at this,
trying to figure out how do we maintain as much of this as possible, and go forward for the future,
because you're not only looking at '24, '25, but when you look at those charts,
you're looking at '28, '29. How do you still maintain a destination district?
understanding that the challenges that we're facing are not meant for us as a collective body here or the staff,
to hurt anybody, but it is trying to get through this to the next level.
how do you do that with efficacy? Because, in these challenging times,
there will be some things that we cannot do as a collective body that we want to do.
we know it's the right thing to do, but it is trying to maintain as much as possible and moving ahead,
trying to figure out other alternative solutions that may exist that we haven't thought about.
we continue to do that, so dr. Hunt, to you and your team on the continuous improvement.
because I know it is a challenging time to be here a long term employee to know as many people as to the staff that's over there as well,
to look at this and try to figure out, how do we maintain the things that we value?
not only the core value, but the sea bass, that we talked about, a strategic plan that has been implemented,
and how do you leverage those things and get to the other side of this? Because it's not going to be easy by any stretch of imagination,
but working collectively together as a mission statement has in it, you can get there.
>> I think the next section is going to be one that's going to
be hopefully resonate with many of our parents. These are some of the questions that we got not only from you last monday night,
but also a lot of e-mails, maintaining walkability for neighborhood schools as much as possible.
what we would specifically be doing with some of our beloved programs like dual language immersion and international baccalaureate.
we're going to start with walkability. >> as we look at walkability, rideability,
and bus routes, we have some preliminary information. It's important to note that we are still in the planning stages,
with more data to come from our demographers based on our recent numbers.
these are just approximations. Walkability means the ability to safely walk or
ride within two miles of a school building. This takes into account sidewalks, trails,
and not having to cross major roadways. The district has identified various areas where hazardous traffic conditions for
students who live within two miles of the campus exist,
and they might encounter hazardous traffic conditions when walking to and from school.
the district will provide transportation to these students. While we are in the preliminary stages of
developing attendance zone options that we'll bring back to you and the school board, our goal is to reduce and not increase transportation costs.
as we look at the walkability of the options, there may be changes in which neighborhoods would ride the bus based on distance,
but we will not increase the cost overall. Additionally, there are some neighborhoods where students would currently ride the bus,
and maybe they will still continue to do so. Factors might include the lack of sidewalks,
to walk or ride to school or crossing a major highway. Based on our preliminary findings for both austin and the pinkerton option,
the majority of students would have the safe option to ride or to walk to school.
we would have changes in transportation, but not increases in the overall cost.
>> assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, dr. Angie brooks is going to come and talk a little bit more about our plan for ib,
as well as dli. >> perfect. Thank you. Good evening, everyone.
as I start once again, I oversee curriculum instruction in cisd,
and I have been here for 24 years in coppell. I'm very of the work that I have got to see and have done within this district,
and so I just want, I'm emotional and I have allergies, so therefore it's all the thing, [laughter] so there you are.
but hearing from the community, it's so important because also, too,
it is very difficult to have these discussions and to talk about things when you've been
a part of a community in a district for a long time. I also live in coppell, and so knowing that,
I just need y'all to know, it's also an emotional journey for us as we're going through. We just appreciate listening and hearing the different pieces, and once again,
we're really relying on our school board to also help guide these decisions and help us to go in the direction that we can go.
but also too, we are very proud of our kids, and the things that they do in our district.
we love our kids, we care about them. When I hear the words inclusivity and I think about
equity and education and social emotional needs, those are all high on our priority of the things.
you see them in our district improvement plan and our campus improvement plans. Knowing that, I'm going to get through the next pieces here within that,
but I just felt that was on my heart to state, so that everyone needs to hear and know that.
no, brad, I can't look at you because then I'll start going in. But I'm going to talk first just about some of the pieces specifically with ib,
and then also we'll talk about dli. Once again, these are possibilities within things,
but important things too. We're just all going to lose it here. [laughter] but it's important that we
are in this position for all the reasons stated earlier,
and so as we're doing that, I think it's important for us to dig in, and to be able to look for possible solutions.
that is who we are as a district. We have always done that, we have been innovative in our practices for years,
and we're going to continue to find the best way to serve kids. I think that's just [noise] important for us
to think through as we're looking at all of our options. When we're thinking about ib,
some of the questions that the school board had brought to us and to our team, was to look specifically,
and I'm going to go back to my script. Now, here we are. But for staff movement with ib, we would try to move,
[noise] and this is where also I'm getting older and need readers. Therefore, here we are.
we would try to move as many staff who have been a part of the ib program at pinkerton to wilson as possible.
this will help with keeping our current [noise] ib accreditation and program more streamlined,
and ensuring we are able to start at backup with individuals who know and understand the ib program.
we do realize that there may be adjustments needed due to pinkerton staff members who might leave the district,
choose another opportunity to transfer to another campus, etc. However, we would like to transition as many of the current ib staff as possible.
[noise] one of the questions that we would like to address is,
what is the impact to wilson staff if ib moves to wilson?
any dli staff member similar to our ib staff would be clustered to be moved to denton creek, if possible.
we realize once again that there may be adjustments needed due to wilson staff members who might leave the district,
choose another opportunity to transfer to another campus, etc. However, we would like to transition as many of our current dli staff as possible.
[noise] our monolingual teachers at wilson would remain at the campus. We realize once again that there will be
adjustments needed due to staff members who might want to leave, choose another opportunity, etc.
another question is, how would ib staff be utilized or moved?
we also know that there will be updated training required for any new staff, as well as current ib staff members,
to ensure we continue to have alignment and everyone feels supported in the transition.
we will work with the campus leadership team and our ib consultant who we have a very close relationship with as well,
[noise] as any decisions are made to have a solid transition plan in place for all needs,
including curriculum, resources, and professional learning needs.
another couple of questions that had come up specifically are talking about our students.
when we're thinking about the impact on wilson students, and are there any concerns about wilson students who may be
remaining there at the campus jumping into the ib program? As with any other instructional program,
we will make sure our learners feel comfortable and confident in understanding the core tenets of ib.
we already have a partnership with our ib campus for aligned resources and working with scope and sequence for learning,
to ensure there are ib elements throughout the campus. We are still responsible for covering,
teaching and understanding the state required teaks and skills that we have, and using all of our assessment platforms in
the district and our state for monitoring learner growth. We will also have opportunities for learners to connect with the campus, staff,
and other students who may remain at wilson to be a part of the ib program.
specifically some questions about dual language immersion. This had to do with the attrition of the staff when we were looking at numbers.
what we have here is, some educators transition or leave the district for a variety of reasons.
it is hard to also track specific data for attrition due to a decrease in the number of sections with enrollment overall.
that could mean, maybe we have two kindergarten dual language sections one year and then it drops to one,
so we've gone back and forth a little bit with that at denton creek as an example for one of them.
however, here is the current data that's collected in our campus improvement plans for retention rate overall for denton creek and wilson.
what I did is I captured two years of data right there from both of the last two years,
so that you can also see that. We also continue to partner with our campuses to ensure we
have dedicated training for dual language immersion educators, and once again, aligning resources for learning.
the district also continues to offer a stipend for recruitment efforts for dli in case you
weren't aware of that or the community wasn't aware of that. Another question was, what staff movement will
occur from wilson to denton creek for dli, and also, is there a process for dli staff to remain at wilson if they choose?
for the movement of dli, once again, we would try to move as many staff who have been
a part of the dli program at wilson to denton creek. Once again, that would be as possible.
this would help with keeping our current dli program structure streamlined and ensuring that we're able to continue building
our program with individuals who know and understand the dli program and specific learner needs.
we realize that there may be adjustments needed due to wilson staff members who might leave the district,
choose another opportunity to transfer to another campus, or remain within there.
however, we would like to transition as many of those dli staff as possible.
another question that was asked was, [noise] how will cisd address
wilson's own students currently in dli that choose to remain at wilson? Will there be enough room at wilson?
we're running our current numbers right now. The current number of students participating specifically in dli,
once again, not total enrollment is 204. We would once again, we would need to work with each family to
see what their specific needs are for their learning program. The hope would be,
that our families whose children are currently a part of the dli, dual language immersion program,
would want to continue being a part of that program. As a reminder, our dual language immersion program
is the district instructional program model, chosen to support our emergent bilingual spanish learners.
we would make sure all spanish learners who qualify for this program, would also receive the transportation required per the state to meet their needs.
there are families who currently reside in the wilson zone who also may decide to discontinue the dli program.
I would hate that, but I know that could be the case. For those who have also and they have chosen to apply to be a part of the dli program.
we also understand that this would be a choice for them, as we do not provide transportation for families choosing to be
a part of our dli programs at either campus for wilson or for denton creek.
>> brooks said 204 includes pre-k, correct?
>> would y'all check on that number to see if it included pre-k? I'm not sure on that. I apologize.
for the bilingual pre-k? [overlapping] I'm not sure on that right now,
so we'll do a double check. >> for students that qualified for the program, I know that we are already transporting kids from all over the districts.
>> we transport kids from all across the district currently that meet the criteria and eligibility serving as
an emergent bilingual spanish learner to both campuses. We provide transportation to denton creek as well as to wilson currently.
>> [inaudible] ranch. >> yes, sir. >> ranch richard? >> yes, sir. Any of the other campuses where you may have a learner that meets
that eligibility. Let's see here, sorry.
apologize. Also, there are families who currently reside in the wilson zone that do not participate in the dli program.
these learners would remain at wilson and be a part of the ib program. However, just a reminder that there's always
a transfer process and timeline in place for families who may want to attend another cisd elementary campus if you had
someone that didn't necessarily want to be a part of the ib program. One of the parts of ib 2 that I do like to make sure and recognize,
because pinkertons done such a wonderful job with it, is, while it is not a dli program,
it does also have spanish as a tenet as a part of its core that it has to have a language piece within there
for some of our families that may not realize that. Another question was, what is the impact on
denton creek staff and students currently enrolled? Our denton creek staff who are currently a part of
the dli program would remain in their roles. As always, grade levels could change or teaching assignments could change,
at any time based on the needs of the campus in our district. Our students in the dli program at denton creek would remain in the program.
then based on the enrollment numbers of learners, transitioning from wilson with the consolidation of dli,
there may need to be a transition for some learners not in the dli program at denton creek to other campuses in the district.
yes, ma'am. That did include bilingual pre-k. Thank you so much, ms. Siklar.
>> when can we ask questions about dual immersion? Would you like us to go all the way through and then ask at the end or?
>> as now or wait to the end. Yeah, because there may be some parts that ms.
flores covers with pre-k that cover that part of it too. >> the concept of leveling the number of
early childhood classrooms across the district will allow cisd to more evenly distribute the number of
early childhood and pre-k students that attend the designated schools? This plan allows for students to attend campuses closer to their home campus,
if not at their home campus. It does not include adding pre-k to all campuses.
in 2023, 2024, we had four elementary early childhood campuses.
we added canyon ranch this year as a fifth campus for the '24, '25 school year.
the renovation of valley ranch includes space for pre-k classrooms. With or without campus consolidation,
we would like to prioritize the locations across feeder patterns so that more learners are closer to their home campus.
families that attend pre-k not on their home campus, do not always feel the connection to their k5 home-zoned campus.
allowing students to attend pre-k at their home campus or closer to their neighborhood,
would increase the likelihood of students and families feeling connected to their home campus and being part of the school community.
last year, we launched a specific campaign to build that connection between the pre-k families and their home campus.
we hosted a variety of events with pre-k families and incoming kindergartners to bond and interact.
this included popsicles in the park, the pre-k fare, and kindergarten roundup.
we will continue to build on that campaign and encourage the connection between families and their designated home campus.
as we move through the school year, we will share more details about the plans to build that connection,
relationships, and engagement between our early childhood families and their home-zoned campus.
>> pause now. >> could we go to the dli slide, please?
>> go back. >> to the dli slide.
I know there's been a lot of research and you guys have gone through a lot of
permutation combination before coming up with the proposals you have come up,
but help me understand this. From this slide, what I'm seeing that the number of
classes in wilson of dli are more stable than denton creek.
that's why the retention rate has shot higher. >> basically know what a board member,
and I'm not sure who, I apologize and right now, just lots of questions have come our way.
but this was a question specifically about teacher attrition, and so I wasn't sure.
when you're looking at this, this is the rates that you would see based on how many teacher were retained at the campuses.
but this also could vary based on teachers who were leaving, let's say,
if they decided to stay home and they were having a child and they did not come back,
if they left our district and went somewhere else as well. This is just looking at that specific attrition.
it has nothing to do with class. >> just the class number going up. It's not just about that. >> it's literally just educator attrition rate.
>> I'll ignore that comment. But help me understand why we reached the decision of ib program moving to wilson.
I totally understand we have to for the cost savings to actually work and for
all the programs because we really value all the choices we give to our learners and we want to preserve all the choices.
they may look a little bit different after consolidation, but we want to preserve all the choices for our learners.
how did we land up with this solution
of ib being at wilson and dli program at denton creek?
why not the other way round? Why not ib program at denton creek and dli at wilson?
>> well, there were a couple of reasons behind that.
one, [noise] the close proximity of wilson to other pinkerton attendance zones.
when you look at that map, it's not exactly, but.
>> because pinkerton has 50% of the ib program from that zone.
rest of the 50% are- >> from all over the region. >> from all over. That number is just in less than 200,
and that's why I was thinking why. I'm sure there is some reason,
and you can get back to us later on. I don't want to put anybody because I know the number of hours you guys have put in.
>> no, we can talk through about some of that. Because we were really fluctuating between two schools.
there was another school that's close too and I'll say what it is. It was cottonwood creek for transparency,
and so either one of those could have gone, why we picked wilson is yes,
there could be some negative things about combining the dli program. We heard that from some of our parents and students.
we've heard that from some educators as well. There could also be a positive of putting that program together when you look at
resources and efficiency as well as even staffing,
so that you're not just a one person team. You've got other team members.
there was a lot of discussion about that and we felt like wilson made sense,
again, based on its close proximity to some of those pinkerton neighborhoods.
like dr. Brooks said, the spanish tenet at ib doesn't replace dli.
we're not saying it does, but that is a component that's already there that could you know,
hopefully help make a very difficult situation a little bit less difficult.
>> remember, 711 is looking mainly at facilities.
it's not programs. Programs are a piece of it. We were looking at how are we going to
consolidate neighborhood schools and still maintain neighborhoods?
in order to do that, that is really why we were looking at, in close proximity,
where can we move this large group of students from pinkerton so that that program can go with it.
their staff are trained. The staff know how to run ib. Ib is different.
it's this unique program and we need to keep that cluster of teachers together,
and where can we move that? Wilson really was the most logical choice.
dr. Hunt just shared, when we looked at cottonwood creek, it wouldn't fit.
it would put that campus over capacity.
we wanted to combine and we've talked for several years about combining the dli program into consolidating it.
for the reasons dr. Hunt just shared, really about efficiency of staff. It's about making that a program that can thrive together.
it was like, if we can bring those together, and then move that pinkerton to wilson,
it will allow us to really bring efficiency into two great programs and keep two programs of choice and allow them to thrive to more students.
we wanted to keep the cohort of teachers together and we wanted to keep the cohort of students at pinkerton together as much as possible.
I think that's really why that choice allowed us to because the numbers would work.
>> putting it in different words, seeing a bigger picture,
keeping the values of walkability and the neighborhoods good. This made the most perfect sense.
>> it did. >> my second part to that question is, and we heard that from community today quite a bit of how much anxiety community has
about being able to be transported these dli kids from wilson because they won't able to walk down to the schools,
then they'll need either bus or their own transportation and a lot of these parents' kids can miss a bus.
they don't have the situation where parents' jobs may not allow them to drop them to school.
constrain all of that.
I know we are still in a planning phase and there's a lot of planning to be done. Are there some initial thoughts that we had at the sport
and some assurance we can provide to these parents of dli program?
that how we are going to take care of those kids because we really want every parent,
every kid who is in the dli program to continue with those choices. >> I agree.
>> what are the initial tasks that staff and from
the district we can give to these parents and learners so they continue with their choice?
>> I'm going to give you two pieces of information and then I'm going to pass it off to dr. Brooks because that's really her area of expertise.
it's important to know that 50% of the students that are currently in the dli program at wilson already take a bus.
they are not zoned. 50% of the students currently take a bus already to wilson for the dli program.
>> there's still 100 kids. >> sorry, that meet their emergent bilingual. Thank you for clarifying that.
that meet their emergent bilingual. 50% of the emergent bilingual students. Thank you for correcting that.
>> not 204, but those that qualify as emergent bilingual? >> correct.
>> they're all important kids and we love all of them, but that is a group, as you heard from some parents,
that we do need to make sure that we are helping to take down barriers and give them the supports that they need.
the program is for the emergent bilingual children first. Others benefit from it and we're grateful for that.
>> that's the state mandate. >> state mandated part of it. For denton creek, it's about 48% of the emergent bilingual students who
qualify for the program take a bus to denton creek.
it's nearly 50 for the emergent bilingual students. It's important to keep that in your mind.
to keep in our mind that what we're trying to do is bring that efficiency together.
while there will be students who will be impacted and have to do transportation,
there are already currently students who are having to deal with that, and so how can we look at those numbers and bring all of that together,
and meet the needs of all of our students and take into account, help those families.
I'm going to pass it off to dr. Brooks to share that part of it. >> I think too a big thing and this is something
that in coppell as a community that people may not realize. The dual language immersion program,
and I had done a presentation on this a couple of months ago.
it was some time within there and I wish I could quote that right now. I'm sure that ms. Brown could probably dig that up.
but specifically about the why we have chosen dual language and the benefits
that it can have for biliteracy, and just the different things. I think that's important to note that not every district has
dual language as the chosen piece that we have. We actually have it for spanish as a district.
>> a big star destination district. >> that's exactly right, mr. Sethi.
noting that, I think it's important when we're thinking about our programs that we are able to offer.
this is a way that we are meeting the federal and state requirements for our emergent bilingual learners that are spanish.
we also have a very large population within our district that are other languages that are
spoken where we have learners who are qualifying and meeting eligibility due to their specific language.
how we are supporting those emergent bilinguals also looks different than necessarily the dual language immersion program.
I'm not going to get into all the logistics on all the things right there within that because I can get a little curriculum heavy on it.
but noting that right now, probably between, I'd say,
90 and 92% of our pre-k learners in cisd,
meet the eligibility of emergent bilingual. They are getting on buses from the southern side,
a lot of times of our district right now, and across the district as well. But a lot of our learners are coming up and we're busing them every
day to campuses based on once again, that eligibility and meeting those needs.
once again, that whole equity piece with me within education and making sure we are doing everything we can to not only be inclusive,
but make sure that we are equitable and also following the legal guidelines that are required within that,
we have to make sure we're taking care of our families and our kids. Noting that we would do,
of course, all the things that are required, but also too, I would love for anyone who is also software update.
lovely. But also too, who is choosing to be a part of dli.
I realize and understand wilson is an amazing campus. Denton creek is an amazing campus and once again,
it's that back and forth. You could have gone to either and said, hey, because the big piece we're having to look at is right now,
the efficiency between it and also being able to continue this specific model.
this is crucial, in my opinion, that we continue this model for the reasons that our families and
our kids and our educators and our campus principals are speaking to.
right now, this is just once again, it's not a decision, it's one way that you as a board can look at and say,
how are we more efficient if we were to do this with our dli program?
I just want to remind of those pieces as well. >> once again, that's what my question is,
and to make these hard decisions is knowing that we have plans
and solutions in place to help these dli learners and parents to move from being part.
>> they're home. Exactly. >> in home campus to a different campus goes a long way in making those decisions.
>> yes. Definitely. >> I would also ask you to remind everyone of
the advanced spanish course that's offered at coppell middle school north for students that have been involved in the program.
close proximity to denton creek, we'll just help with some of that planning and alignment too.
not that it hasn't already been occurring, not that wilson's that much farther. But again, they'll be very close at both wilson and denton creek,
if it merges and it's at denton creek dli. >> one of the things, honestly,
this one when I was looking at it last week is the one that probably gave me the most pause,
just from logistics and thinking it through. But one thing we haven't mentioned and I thought it was as I
reflected on it in the last day or so that really popped to my mind.
speak to staffing at denton creek in terms of dr. Cardoza,
when I remember, kristen and dr. Hunt, when you guys brought her and introduced her to the board,
that was a big I think piece of that introduction was
her personal professional background and the ability to enhance the program because of that.
I look at that as when we talk about choice and how do we make our programs bigger and better.
I didn't know if we wanted to speak on that. That obviously falls into later transition should this be what ultimately happens.
but to me I think that's a big positive for this. >> I think the one thing that we can always speak to
as a district is that we have amazing staff. We hire amazing people that are here and are very
dedicated to work with our kids and our families and to learn and grow.
when you're talking consolidation, there's going to have to be some conversation around some of those inner details,
and right now, we're not ready to have those discussions within that at this time.
but once again, just like was stated earlier, we will be taking care of our staff.
that's what we do as a district, and so we need to also keep that at the forefront that when we're taking care of our staff,
what does that mean and how are we being very respectful, but also too working with them? Are within any difficult decision or change.
>> can I cut you off? >> I think there's three of us, so you go for it.
>> go for it. Somebody >> concentration risk. Moving students to one campus,
and just got through the house bill 3 goals that we just passed, talking about that.
can you talk a little bit about that intentionality on how those things come together looking at the data and figuring out
solutions to ensure that students will have the opportunity to be successful on the campus collectively if you brought them together?
>> yes. I think that one of the things that we've done very well, especially within the last few years when we're thinking about
how we're assessing growth of our students, we have not only those aligned resources,
but also those data pieces, not only our state assessment pieces that we have,
but also too, our internal pieces. Just a couple of examples, nwea map, when you're looking at mclass,
when you're looking at some of our just screeners as a whole for day to day instruction, informative assessments.
all of that is very important to make sure that wilson has these pieces,
denton creek has these pieces. We have that common alignment when you're thinking about any movement.
I mentioned that earlier with ib. While ib has its tenants and its units of
study and how it may roll out particular lessons, it's really important to also note that they are still held
to the standards from the state of texas as well as that level of growth that we expect to see as a district through all of
our benchmarks that we have and our specific assessment pieces as well.
>> I have some thoughts around this one. First of all, it was very helpful and I want to make sure I understand this correctly.
it was helpful to hear and so what I heard,
was that 50% of both campuses, denton creek and wilson, so to only put words in your mouth,
50% of those spanish-speaking learners walk to their campus.
>> no, it was the bus. [overlapping] >> both have the same amount that bus.
then what about the other 50%? Are they walking to denton creek as well?
how do we know? Again, I don't expect answers right now.
>> but that's a question that we can make that we have at. >> but that's a question I want to know. Because I think that has really popped through
this past week is how does this affect the community that walks directly.
again, I don't necessarily need to answer, but it's something that pops in my mind. How many are walking to denton creek and then how many walk from wilson?
secondly, as a piece of that, is how are we engaging in communicating with our spanish-speaking community on this?
I would like to know how we are intentionally making sure this information is getting out. That's my second one.
my third one is I feel really strongly one of my core decision-making filters for this is,
does this change actually improve the program? I really want some clarity,
maybe a one-pager on how does this move improve the ib program and how does this move improve the dual language immersion?
having existed a million years in this district, I wanted to enroll my kindergartner who turns 23 tomorrow,
I wanted to enroll him in the dual language immersion when he was at austin elementary.
they close it down and took two years off when they decided to do wilson and then he did not take advantage, so he was unable to do it.
I know that there was a lot of discussion then of taking it from one concentrated place, moving it to two.
I'd really like to know how this actually improves the program.
then my last one that I want to say out loud is both these schools,
and we're talking austin 2 and I see two principals in this room. All of these places have principals and a whole staff,
and they also have programs, like we've heard, wilson has an amazing fine arts musical.
I know this is going to be addressed, but how does that work when it consolidates with
the staff that's going to be consolidated?
how does that affect the culture of that school?
that is just something I keep thinking as I hear. I think that's part of the anxiety is
that it wouldn't just close pinkerton to some extent,
it would also really change wilson. You're closing two schools there. I know that is very true for austin as we're thinking of all this.
how are we going to address that very prickly problem?
>> it is a very prickly problem, and I think that people are just
realistic and understanding that when you consolidate something, it's not going to be the same.
it could, in many ways be better, but it will never be the same. I think we have to just understand that and know that.
our commitment is on our employees. We're going to do what we can to find a space for everybody.
that's why we've cut a lot of positions and we didn't backfill a lot of positions or fill them,
so some positions are open. You don't want to say if smith elementary school closes,
then this principal automatically gets something, it's not going to work that way. We don't know what that something is,
but our commitment is to take care of all of our employees. That prickly part is on us.
but for our students and our community, it's going to be different.
different can sometimes be better, different can sometimes be worse, different can sometimes be the same,
but it will be different. It is so hard for our community because we haven't had to do this in years.
remember back in the day when we were fast growth, we were opening new schools all the time.
you just got it down and you knew you're going to the new school, you're going to do this, you're going to do all that,
and it was all fun and exciting, but there were also people that didn't want to leave their old school.
we haven't had to do that in a long time. The reason why we're looking at consolidation now is for efficiency and budget,
and those are very different reasons too. Part of that is once a decision is made by the board,
we don't want to start meeting with a bunch of staff right now that may not be affected by it.
people are already on pins and needles, just wondering what's going to happen.
one, we're committed to engaging with our spanish-speaking community members,
and so we've been able to communicate things in spanish, we'll continue to do that, do more of that.
our plan was to have two meetings, one at wilson and one at denton creek,
so the families could come to those, and we could talk about all of that too. But if there's no change in all of that,
we want to know what the direction is before we start doing those pieces of that.
I can appreciate board members want to know every little detail of that so that you can make the decision.
but what we are asking for you all to do is make the decision with the information that you have,
what more do you need to help make the decision for you, and we'll bring that forward.
but some of that is a little bit of trust that we're going to take care of our people and not needing to know exactly what that's going to look like.
we do have plans, we've been working on tentative, and even more concrete plans.
but some of that we don't know until you all help us with some direction.
>> yeah. I get that dr. Hunt, very much. I understand that completely. To answer that question in this space,
what would I need? I think I would like to know more of how consolidating dual language actually improves the program.
I think I need more clarity in that space. Then, again, with that walkability question.
>> I want to, again, respond to what I said earlier, we're continuous improvement.
we have heard that we're not communicating enough with our spanish-speaking families, so we can bump that up.
we have the capacity to do that, we have some systems in place to do that, we will do that.
>> I think I would wrap up with saying,
big idea, we're doing the right thing as a district when people are invested and love their schools.
coppell isd is doing exactly what we should be doing as a district when people do
not want their schools closed and they understand that there is an amazing culture there.
to your point, that's not going to stop after september 30th,
that's only going to continue and grow. That was just a side note. But to actually
answer your question of how can I make the decision, it would be helpful to know those thing.
>> I just had one question that piggybacked on lee's because I had the walkability.
knowing how many kids are getting bused to either of those schools is one thing, but how many kids that are not getting bused or walking
is a lingering question for me too and attached to that.
I'm only more familiar with this because wilson is more on my regular routine of life than denton creek is.
but I regularly see yard signs up in spanish about evening activities and scouts and hearing people talk about after-school programs.
I do or do not know how much of that is going on at denton creek, so full disclosure.
but it does make me wonder if we consolidate dli programs to one campus regardless of which one it is,
what things could we put in place?
could there be two different times that buses leave school, for instance? What things can we put in place to help ensure
that the kids can be part of that campus community, and it's not only dependent upon the transportation that mom
or dad may be able to provide? I don't know what our socioeconomic piece of this
looks like at the two campuses for our kids that are zoned to those campuses are not getting bused.
but if we consolidate,
I realize it's some degree of hardship on someone, but I also don't want to put an undue or maybe an unintended burden on a group
of people that maybe we just hadn't seen some of the different aspects of the situation.
that campus community piece is really big for me on how we're going to
help make that possible outside of the school days or maybe with extended school hours or something.
that would be a piece I would need to know. >> we've talked around that knowing that whether it was at wilson or denton creek,
if dli was combined into one campus,
you're automatically reducing some of those travel costs because we don't have kids coming from all over the district to two different places,
they're only coming to one place. We're still transporting kids, there's still that component,
but that could open up the door then to maybe twice a week, we do a late activities of bus,
we do a tutoring, whatever we need to do. We've done things like that in the past.
certainly, when you have some title funds that can help with some of that,
we can look through that. Those are things that we would be committed to doing to make sure that continuity of services,
as well as destination school district, stays at the forefront.
>> as we all are absorbing a lot of information over here
getting a lot more details than last week.
something you said, to be exact,
a word you said made me pause for a second, trust.
I think we all realize as board of trustees,
we'll have to make some decisions which are a little bit ambiguous because all the details are yet to come,
and we didn't become destination district by fluke,
we've become destination district by making great decisions year after year
and extreme hard work from the staff and the vision you have provided to this district.
this trust has to not only come from us board onto the staff,
who has proven to us year after year, but collectively as from the community to
have that trust on our superintendent and on our staff, that you guys haven't let us down,
and during these most tough times you have seen in recent years,
you would stand up to the occasion and go the extra mile to appeal to every parent,
especially in this case, in wilson dli program is a factor of equity because of
certain socioeconomical conditions of some of the parents who
have no other choice but to walk to the school that you will go the extra route,
and I can say for me personally, we have the trust on you that over the coming months,
whatever decision the board makes, your staff and you will go the extra mile to take care of our community.
>> because it's not like we haven't been working on some of these plans, we still don't know what the board's going to do,
so we want to try to be as focused as possible, and we also know that there's going to be something that we're going to miss.
I can't say today exactly what something's going to look like because we want to keep getting input not only from our parents and community members,
but our staff members are giving us lots of input and making sure that nothing falls between the cracks and be as transparent as we can be with what we know at this time.
but, again, help you all do what you all need to do to make your decision, but also provide some reassurances for the community that we're
never going to be intending to leave anybody out in a bad place.
>> guys on the right side, I know we are all looking left. [laughter] do you have any comments?
>> I want question, dr. Hunt, that currently the format that we have for our dli program,
how long it has been like that? How did we start that way?
what was the process behind the current format?
>> [overlapping] I'm going back in years in my mind, I'm certainly going, okay, hold on [overlapping].
>> I forgot austin, but you're right, it was a austin. It was eventually added dli.
mr. Hill, you might remember more specific. I don't remember of the top of my head.
>> I think all three of those campuses that we're talking about have had to play a part in that.
but I think also not only was that, but also the structure of what the program looks
like because the most recent person that was here, put that structure in place that we're talking about now because
we've had different models of that program as well. That makes a big difference,
and now with the current person in place, dr. Neena biswas, there are a lot of working parts in it.
I think it's a complicated conversation for the night, we may have to go back and do a little analysis
before you get an answer to that question, but yeah. >> yes. I'm also thinking that it must be at that time many years ago,
like efficiency of the program plus need of the community and our students,
those kind of factors. I'm just trying to use those same factors,
same lens that if we were to make some change in the program,
are we still thinking through the same factors?
yes, budget is a big thing, but at the same time, we're also looking through so many other lenses.
this is just my eye wonder question. >> definitely looking at needs,
I think that's your ultimate important piece within there. I think that one of the things that this has risen
is also two goes back to the enrollment piece. That has been intertwined throughout when you're looking at enrollment as a whole,
it's not just impacting other campuses, it's also impacting this particular program at most.
>> yes, and no matter what option, even a single small change we make,
it's going to impact each and every campus and each and every family.
that's that. I'm also really proud of all of us
keeping our focus on prioritizing programs over buildings.
I think that's the way we have been doing.
I'm really also banking on our history of taking care of our staff,
our teachers, and our students. This is a big change,
but at the same time over and over, we are brainstorming on that point that;
are we making sure that we're meeting the needs? Are we making sure that our staff and our teachers are going to be taken care of?
I was really touched by some of our parents wanting to help.
they were like, how can we help? I would like to say that waiter is one way to do that,
that's how the community can help.
>> then I was just thinking that we recently saw
the campus improvement plan and the district improvement plan from you, dr. Brooks?
how's that going to be impacted with any change?
>> no, that's a great question. I think as always, one of the things that we do that's a component of
those plans is a needs assessment that has to be done as a whole. When you're thinking about any needs that you
may have as you're going into the next school year, all of this would come into play. You would see the district plan,
you would see strands within that to say, how are we going to make sure and help those campuses if we're having
any transition within the campus that may be receiving or a campus that may be changing somewhat,
whatever it may be, that's something else that we would make sure and prioritize that as an important piece.
I think it's that relationships when you're thinking about the core value right there within that,
and then also to thinking about how are we accommodating for those needs. I was in the classroom as a fifth grade educator at
town center elementary back in the day when the elementary closed.
I know exactly what we did and how that felt. Also to trying to receive families that had gone
through for several years and they had had their home campus.what that feels like from a staff member perspective
to making sure that your kids are feeling that they are a part of, and they were town center texans,
but they were still the [inaudible] back in the day, all the different things.
I just think those are the things that we're going to have to bring to the forefront to ensure that they're part of our plans,
but also it's the connection that we have with others that will make the difference in any change within that.
>> which is a good see to the next slide. >> yes, sir. >> I know there'll be more dli questions,
but because the original richard j lee became new tech,
it's a good time to transfer. [overlapping] >> thank you so much, dr. Hunt.
as our final piece right here when you're thinking about programs this evening,
as a district in a campus, we've been working on increasing enrollment for several years,
including areas such as marketing, shadow days, recruiting days, and community engagement experiences specifically for new tech,
when we're thinking about that as a campus. If it is a board, you decide to not consolidate new tech.
with chs and chs 9, there will be an action plan created this school year with
a defined timeline to grow the choice high school program.
also, two, this would include improving our enrollment numbers, improving operating cost and teacher efficiency,
creating measurable data for the district and our board to evaluate the program following a specific timeline.
when I'm putting an approximate timeline, just so you'll know what I'm thinking about growth on my end because I'm a data geek.
you're looking at 2-3 years. I just need you to know if that is the decision of a board to say, "hey,
we're looking either a re-brand or you're looking at how are we really growing,
and what are the next steps within that, " you also have to give it time to be implemented and making sure that that change were to happen.
I wanted to state that on that end, as well as I like an intentional plan.
you've read my plans before. That is very much a part that needs to come into play within that.
another question that was asked specifically is, at what point do the finances of a choice high school become unsustainable?
at this time, we are seeing a need and we're concerned about the financial implications of sustaining the current program.
I think that that needs to be stated because that is something that has come up when you're looking at some of our pieces.
then one more question that was asked specifically around new tech was, do we need to reconsider shuttles?
as a district, we're continuing to review that specific needs,
but there are some needs for shuttles at this time, based on the specific classes,
especially our fine arts and athletics that we're thinking about supports for new tech learners to be able to attend.
>> we felt it was important that as decisions are made around our high school programs,
that we share what the enrollment trend data has been of our high schools from 2008 until today.
an optimal capacity for the building in the program at
new tech high would be between 450 and 500 students.
as you can see, since new tech's inception, they've only reached optimum capacity utilization,
which once again is between 90 and 95% in the years 2011, 2012 and 2013.
also, when you look at the total high school enrollment numbers, especially in recent years,
please remember that five or six years ago, we added chs 9,
which removes between 1000 and 1100 students from chs each year.
also, we are in the process with bond dollars of expanding some of those areas with the new fine arts building on the chs campus.
again, as was stated previously with class size and capacity, we do have the capacity to include the students that are
currently part of the new tech program in the high school programs,
and we'll turn it back over to dr. Brooks to talk about what choices are
available in our high school programs. Dr. Brooks.
>> can we just make a note on those numbers that 2011 is the first year that we had four grade levels at new tech?
>> yes, definitely. >> thank you.
>> if you were to go the direction of consolidation of new tech, once again,
the learners being to chs 9 and chs within that,
you would have specific choices that are listed above that you can see that
we do offer currently either at chs or chs 9.
thinking about our ib program, thinking about dual credit opportunities, advanced placement courses,
this would be an expansion of advanced placement courses because we are somewhat limited to what is able to be offered,
necessarily at new tech at this time. Languages other than english,
this could expand that as well. Thinking about that and, for example,
american sign language is something that we offer at chs that's not currently offered at new tech. Fine arts.
you'll know the plethora of programs that we do have within that, athletics, of course.
cte. We do have currently more cte programs of study available at,
or you're thinking about chs 9 and chs within that, as well as the ctsos,
which are always make sure and read it out loud here. I'm thinking about our career technical education student organizations that we have.
then there are just as you know, at any of our campuses, new tech as well,
but we do offer a lot of extra curricular and co curricular types of programs that are available.
also, too, when you're thinking about options for students, additionally,
10th through 12th grade learners do have the opportunity to apply to
attend turning point at victory place as another option within cisd,
to accelerate their graduation plan, if this is something that learners were wanting to do.
I listed through those pieces, and then cisd offers many options for program choices in high school to our students.
while many of these programs do not have their own facility, there are options for engagement and connection
of our students to their interests and passions.
>> the question has come up about marketing specifically for new tech,
so we decided to look at overall marketing for the school district. From 2021 until 2024,
coppell isd has spent approximately $76,000 on marketing for student and staff,
recruiting and special programs. This included campaigns on social media for new tech, pinkerton,
pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten enrollment, I heart cisd, and my home is cisd.
this also included recruitment billboards, postcards, yard signs, and welcome magazines for new families that were mailed to every new family.
of the money spent on marketing, 65% was spent for overall marketing and recruiting students to all cisd campuses.
twenty four percent was used to recruit staff to all cisd schools,
3% was spent specifically for new tech, and 1% was spent specifically for pinkerton,
6% of the budget was spent on pre-k and kindergarten and recruiting at all elementary schools.
for new tech, this included social media campaigns on youtube tv with
19,000 views and 36,000 impressions and 21 website visits, from those impressions.
additionally, postcards have been mailed every year to families in the open enrollment zones,
encouraging them to apply to new tech. For pinkerton, this included social media ads with great videos that they produced,
with 26,000 impressions and 15,000 views of that video.
for kindergarten and pre-kindergarten marketing, the social media ads garnered 170,000 impressions in
nearly 2000 clicks to learn more information and apply to our pre-k program.
the opportunity to grow the international baccalaureate program, the dual language immersion program, new tech,
and the early childhood or pre-k program would allow cisd to continue to market to
families looking for school choice options and looking to our school as a destination school district.
to families that either live in our boundaries, they're moving to the dfw area,
or they work in our schools, or they live in one of our open enrollment zones, and we'll continue to find creative ways to market to those families.
>> as we wrap up our content for tonight, we're going to follow the same process that we did last monday when we discussed pros and
cons and considerations that we shared with each one of the options that we presented to the board and community.
we heard from some staff, parents, and board members,
why didn't you present an option of not consolidating any schools and so ms. Brown is going to go over that at this time.
>> you asked, and here we will provide it to you.
we have shared additional information tonight, but before we turn it over you to continue your discussion,
we want to share this final piece. We've been asked to share pros, cons,
and considerations of not closing a school. This is not an exhaustive list, but captures overarching themes.
here are pros to not consolidating any schools. These are the positives to keeping all of our schools open.
it would be less impact to student movement. It would be less impact to staff movement.
it would allow us to preserve the history and the traditions at all of our campus and those cultures.
it would be less impact to our feeder patterns and to other campuses.
what are the cons to not consolidating any campuses?
we've talked about a lot of these tonight. Declining enrollment will create excessive capacity and inefficiencies,
and enrollment is expected to continue to decline. It requires the use of fund balance or other expenditure cuts,
staff reductions, program reductions, and class sizes above state levels, etc.
the use of the fund balance could reduce the cisd credit rating, increasing tax rates and interest on bonds.
cisd may have to reduce choice programs, and/or change our model of required programs if we don't make some reductions.
there will be no cost of living raises for staff, which could impact our recruitment and our retention of our staff.
here are some considerations. Special programs will have to be considered.
some special programs are mandated by law, and cisd must provide those,
but others are a choice. The impact of any future legislative action
really is unknown as we've discussed a lot tonight. There are fixed costs that we know that they could continue to rise,
like our utilities, our fuel, etc. Cisd will need to continue to address our rising costs.
we've discussed this earlier tonight. There have been added responsibilities to our current staff members
as we reduce positions through attrition across the district.
the feeder pattern adjustments may still need to occur to
address capacity and utilization to level enrollment across the district.
here's a look at our pros, our cons, and our considerations for not closing any cisd schools, keeping our schools up.
>> like ms. Brown said, it's not an exhaustive list. We could probably add four or five to one of those columns.
I just want to give a jumping off point. Before we let you all have your discussion,
I just wanted to do two quick reminders. One, september 30th is the board meeting where last spring,
y'all agreed upon making a decision to help us move forward that starts at 6:00.
this wednesday, we also have a town hall at chs 9.
that's from 6: 30-8: 30. If you want to sign up to speak,
if you would get there starting at 5:30, that's when the doors will open to the foyer,
and we will have them available for sign up until 6: 15. It's not a board meeting or a workshop,
and so we're a little more flexible on how we can handle that. We will have the time limit based on the number of people that sign up,
so it could be anywhere from one minute like it was tonight to a-minute-and-a-half.
it depends upon how many people sign up. Usually when we get to over 50, then we start having to make some decisions,
but we want and encourage people to provide input coming in attendance,
whether they speak or not, but just listening and then obviously input at coppell isd
every board members e-mail address, as well as myself is all on the website.
[noise] but, we'll go back to
the conversation slide to let y'all debrief everything that you have heard tonight.
>> as we're doing that too, three pointed questions, I want to put back at you guys as you're sharing your thoughts.
one, same question, we always ask yourself. What information beyond tonight do you need to be able to make a decision?
the second thing, to make sure, do y'all feel like we are still on track with the timeline that we've presented?
then the last thing. Any further consolidation of the options that have
been presented as we try to narrow down the focus,
not only in what staff is doing, but what we need to be thinking about as we move towards september 30th.
nicole, you were about to speak, do you want to go first? >> yeah. That's fine.
>> I actually have two new tech questions. One, are we allowing new tech students to
participate in more than fine arts and sports at chs?
>> yes. >> yes. What else are they allowed to do now?
>> languages other than english advanced placement. French and spanish?
>> french and spanish. I think two questions I have related to new tech.
>> chinese. >> I know we already coordinate the schedule among the three high school campuses.
is there any way to minimize transportation
and shuttles with scheduling changes at the three campuses. I don't need an answer tonight,
but that is one of my questions. Then the other question I had is,
what per student dollar amount
would make keeping new tech more palatable open to staff since?
that's one of the questions on the table.
I don't know if that means cutting things that we're offering at new tech.
I don't know if that means new tech being at that campus in another program.
I know the new tech network caps us at 500 students. We know we're at a minimum amount per student because of the networks cap of students.
if we had 800 students over there, it would be problematic to be in the network still.
I would like to know what per student dollar amount would be something that would be targeted in a potential plan.
your second question. [laughter] david, I am fine with the timeline.
I know it is giving some of our community members some heartburn. I think coming into this,
we didn't really know what we didn't know, and seeing where we're at in the process and the information that we've received,
I would hate to prolong the process anymore and cause any more in the community than we already have.
I know that was our intention. By compressing it in the first place, I think that got lost on some people,
but I think we're in the position to ask most of the questions that we need to,
to move something forward or decide not to.
>> I have a question for board members regarding your point 3. Let's see.
this year we adopted and we discussed that after this year,
if we keep on adopting more deficit budget and realize that deficit,
we would be affecting our long term credit rating.
this year, we have adopted approximately $7.5 million deficit with
a very fingers crossed consideration that later we'll pass.
we'll just keep that 2.4 on the side.
with all the consolidations we have considered,
spent most of our time, that gives us about $2.4- $2.5 million consolidation,
including dli and any one of the elementary school.
our staff always works hard to bring our deficit lower than what is expected,
and from last year, since we have already squeezed our budget quite a bit,
it's not as much as what it used to be few years back. In the best case scenario,
we'll land up with the actual five million dollar deficit.
we're looking at, will the orders pass? We're again taking that positive assumption.
we do a $2.5 million cost savings.
we still end up with about $2.5 million actual deficit.
>> hold on. I just want to make sure the 7.5 assumes their pass is correct, diana?
>> yes. That's what I'm saying. >> I was making sure I just understand. I'm sorry.
>> I'm taking the best case scenario. >> I'm sorry. Thank you. >> I'm not taking any new car bats coming.
I'm taking the very best case scenario here with you. >> I got you. Sorry. >> even with that, we are left with $2.5 million actual deficit,
because we have spent most of the time talking about consolidation
of dli and one elementary school.
the best case scenario will leave us with $2.5 million. If it doesn't pass,
we'll be looking at close to five million dollar deficit, which will most eat all of our ready debt,
which we today seen is actually just around seven.
I'll be comfortable going two calendar years from there with no rainy fun being in
the same situation of making some real tough choices provided some miracle doesn't happen in
the legislature and I'm not holding my breath for that, because whatever comes from there will come with heavy strings attached
of vouchers and everything our governor has made that very clear.
>> there's one more piece that we're still evaluating.
in november, we're still looking at scheduled changes that's still to be evaluated at the secondary level.
>> those have not been presented to us. It's already too late.
for those to happen, they will happen 26/27 year.
they cannot happen anymore. We are already too late for that.
>> I think to answer your question, it does cut us dangerously close.
I think that the moving part here is the attendance piece that
marketing every 1% is a million bucks.
I guess that could be an unknown variable to work in our favor.
it could work against us. I guess we never know until we know on this one.
>> not proposing. I'm just more of a third name.
this is not something one first should be means.
this is a collective decision.
hey, we're focusing our effort on this. We know even in the best case scenario,
will leave a shot of our goal of achieving a balanced budget,
but we're doing that with the thought of
not we're taking a blunt instrument and going to it,
how we delayed this decision of consolidation for last two plus years.
we are deliberately pushing another tough decision.
we don't know what that tough decision could be program schedule of secondary school,
could be another facility, could be one of the programs. We don't know. Whatever will come will come with
the same holistic view we have taken right now with community input,
but are we comfortable that in the best case scenario that we are left with $2.5 million deficit
and in worst case scenario could be as high as six and
above which literally means negligible to any funds.
that means we are literally a year away from
having multiple year issue of our credit rating getting affected.
>> you wouldn't want that. In the way you presented, nobody wants that.
>> but that's a situation we are in. We have to make a decision collectively one way or the other.
nobody wants even to do this. >> nobody wants.
>> nobody even wants to do what we are doing already.
>> I think to your point is this. There's so many unknowns to figure that out,
and I think making a drastic change, will put a a future board in a bind that they would have to get out of.
I think it's one of those things that you have to walk in smaller steps than in the past,
because in the past, you could do that and say, hey, for six, seven, eight years,
things are run smoothly and we can get to the next level. This one, we're looking at increments of two years at a time because any way you go,
the drastic step could have a serious ramification for not only boards but staff as well,
because now you've taken away any flexibility that they may have if you cut too deep.
to your point is you either make a small incremental step to say, hey,
the future that we may not know about could change radically enough to get us to where we want to be,
or if you do it too much, then you can have too much attrition of both staff as well as students.
really, that's what we're looking at today. >> exactly. That's why I made the case both ways so
that we have an option to choose whichever way we want to go as a collective decision.
that's why I made a decision, hey, we are not taking a blunt instrument, so the future board and staff is in a bind because we cut down something we have invested
decades in or we have put ourselves in a situation where credit rating is affected.
now, that will take another multiple years to come out of. Either way, there could be long term consequences,
and there's a pros and cons of either decision. I just want a majority of us to be in the same page of,
this is what we consciously are choosing to go in this direction,
whatever direction we choose. >> well, I was going to say, and I think it goes to the question
dr. Hunt's been asking that we haven't really answered, is what are we comfortable at?
from a deficit standpoint, knowing that we do have 1.5,
2% variance each year, just based on the assumptions that go into the process to your point, anthony,
the things we don't know that happens and just staff being conservative in terms of budgets and how they're spending money.
>> we had a 150 student decline, which was not expected.
sometime it comes back. We saw that during covid. Maybe it comes back and puts us back in 1.5 to extra million dollar revenue.
anything can happen. I put those two situations.
I'll tell you where my thought is. We've pushed all our decision because we have used our fund balance as much as we can.
I would want to continue to chip away at this rather than take a blunt instrument and make too deep of a cut.
I know there's a risk both ways, but that's the risk I'm more comfortable with,
but I want this to be in a public forum,
this discussion because I don't want parents who will really feel inconvenience,
anxiety of all the decisions we'll make and they say, you did all this and you're still in deficit?
what do you mean we're still in this trouble? I want this to be upfront that we are making this decision that deliberately,
we are making tough choices one at a time and not doing all together,
so we don't put ourselves in a bigger bind. There's a risk both ways, but there's a risk we're more comfortable with.
our ada might jump up next year. We might get some funding, not much,
nothing to cover our deficit, but some funding from legislature,
and just hoping for the best. If not, we will be here next year making another tough decisions.
>> I think you should go slow to your point.
I've heard a lot of comments tonight about us being a destination school district.
I would actually add something to that. We're not just a destination school district.
we're an elite destination school district, and that bears out in the numbers that we have in the comments we've heard tonight.
we've heard people come from chicago, philadelphia. There's message boards, people talk about coppell isd india to say,
where should you bring your kid if you're going to come to texas? Coppell isd is that location,
and all the work that we're doing and everything that we're trying to do is trying to retain that.
make no mistake, we're being put in an artificially competitive environment.
we're playing a game where the other team has spotted the point and they pay the refs.
now we're having to compete with that. I'm a competitive person and I don't like when the games are rigged.
I want to play fair, but this game is being rigged against us,
and the only way we can compete with that is to still have
all the options on the table to attract all our kids at every level.
we've seen that they're out in the enrollment numbers that come out, which is yes,
there's some decline in elementary school enrollment, but low and behold,
when middle school comes back around, when high school comes back around, kids come back.
we've heard that even in stories tonight. We've heard of parents bringing their kids back where they started in charter schools,
they brought them back and came up here. I think everything that we need to do has to
be to where we maintain that elite choice for parents. Now, we're in an environment where you
can entertain duplication when you have an abundance,
but when you lose out on that abundance, both enrollment and money,
then hard choices have to be made and efficiencies have to be found,
and you cannot survive that duplication any longer. Same thing at home, same thing everywhere.
that's the question that we're asking ourselves, but to that point,
you try to increment that down as much as you can. We're having this conversation tonight.
I think we were talking was 83 speakers or something like that. It's probably the most engagement coppell isd has had in
a speaking forum of people coming out of the communities engaged and dialed in.
I'm hoping that you're along with this journey to see what I think the trustees are all of the same mind of is,
how do we keep that competitive environment? How do we stay being the best that we can be and continue to
deliver that educational value and opportunity for all the kids that we have?
to do that, I think it is that. It is okay. We're doing this, we're making some great gains, some efficiencies.
now, some is in the hands of our community with the vader.
that will help. There are unfunded mandates. We're trying to fill in the holes for some of those things.
then the further engagement that you guys would have with talking to your legislatures and asking them, what's the deal?
why don't you fully fund education and it's very specific question,
the maintenance and operations of that, but now, that's where we are.
I think that I wholehearted support incrementally going through.
>> we said earlier. I think we'll continue the conversation. We've got some really interesting emails
about the kindergartners or the younger people that live here,
technology is something different. Is a low tech or no tech school
an option that we might want to look at or a program change? We're not going to stop this conversation on september 30th.
we're going to continue to push forward. To answer your question, president caviness, what do I need to move forward in this specific conversation?
because another one of my maxims is, how do you eat an elephant one bite at a time and I can't look at whole elephant right now.
I just can look at this bite. This is what I need. I'd like to know how the elementary options title 1.
what is the impact to title 1 with any of the elementary school options?
secondly, something that we got emails about that I don't know if we have addressed or thought
about is that pinkerton is the very first school in coppell isd.
is there any historical significance to the building? I know that we got some emails from the coppell historical society.
have we talked about that in enough and considered that as we look at these options?
then my third thing that I would offer is, do we need another meeting?
do we need another workshop? How big is the dome, dr. Hunt?
how many people can come and sit at the dome? >> I said 600.
>> depending on the feedback from wednesdays, do we need to meet again before we vote?
I am allowed to say that because chs 9's open house is monday the 23rd,
but do we need to have another time where we come together? Would that be helpful because I agree to answer your last question,
we need to vote on this on september 30th. It needs to be wrapped up. Do we need to have another meeting next monday to hear,
to evaluate what came out of the town hall meeting and
any other additional emails we get and then some of those questions that we might have in the next couple of days. What do you guys think?
>> I agree on the timeline piece that we do need to stay on the course on that.
at this point, I don't need any more information,
but I do need some time to just process.
>> it's a lot of information.
>> to answer your question, president caviness for me,
the only question I really have is for choice programs. Can we grow enrollment in those choice programs?
because right now, what I'm seeing is that we're the expense piece,
I think we're running out of runway, it's a helicopter pad at this point.
but what we need is enrollment, and can we grow any enrollment in this climate?
because it's a competitive climate. Going back to the previous time when we had to make this choice,
the climate looked totally different. You're looking at charter school, private school, home school.
you've got all of that. Then to trustee matthews point,
you've got these things that are coming at us that are making it difficult to be competitive.
but can we grow? Enrollment is really what I'm curious about because when you think about it, it does help.
absolutely. But can we grow enrollment? Because if we can't grow enrollment,
we have a totally different conversation to trustee sethi's point. Two years from now, is this thing is going south the other way.
I'm hopeful because I was here when the aerobic got down to 9,700.
we're at 13,000 plus. I'm hopeful because of that. I think that we can do some things to your point, trustee matthew,
because if we maintain the flexibility, if we maintain the choices that are available.
those things attract people. To your point, I've talked to people even this year, they have come from other places,
out of country, out of state, and they say because of the programs that we
have is the reason that they're here and landed here, they've only been here a couple of years,
one year or less. I think that's the thing that's attractive in my mind,
that we can do that if we can make that happen. To the point of making a decision,
I think we're at the point we need to make a decision on the 30th.
whatever that may be. It may be no choice, or whatever it is,
we need to come to that consensus to your point, trustee sethi, so we can let people know because we're not doing anything for this school year,
as superintendent hunter has talked about, but it's for the next school year,
and I think we need to continue to drive that message home to people as well because I think that is one of the things that gives people angst also to my point.
hopefully, I answered all your questions if I need to answer them, let me know. >> I think so.
>> I had a question on tag on to what trustee hill said,
can we grow enrollment and what does it cost us to grow enrollment historically?
I guess that would be for ms. Brown and her team, but what would we have to spend to grow enrollment to the point that we need to?
I'd like to know what the roi is, I guess on that.
>> she said the total marketing budget was 76,000. >> right. But how many kids did we gain from that and where did we gain them?
if it was I don't know how many kids it was, but if we decided we wanted 400 more kids in the district, what would it cost us?
because we don't know what that we know what she spent, but we don't know what was added to the district from that.
I know it's not scientific. >> easy question. >> I get it.
>> I have difficulty in this. >> we don't always ask at the time of enrollment, how did you find out about us?
we could have a general idea, but we don't know for certain that they are coming to cic because they saw our billboard.
>> right. >> I don't think it hurts us. I think it always is a positive feeling,
but I don't know definitively if we would be able to do that, but if we are, we'll get that to you.
>> I don't think it's clean and pure but just some. >> the only definite answer we have for growth,
towards a marketing effort is from open enrollment. Because we know we were not getting those.
that's a very definite answer. But people who are already in coppell isd zone,
they choose private school or charter school and come back to us. >> all that we're not going to know. I agree.
like I said, I know it's going to be an exact science, but it would give us some indicator rather than just
throwing something in the dark and guessing. >> I'd add to that and I don't know how to figure this out.
this is what the question is, because as the fed is marching to, they're going to reduce rates again with home turnovers,
I don't know how does that correlate? What interest rate environment are we seeing turnover?
I don't know if that's a question further or demographer or not, just to say, when interest rates get around here,
when are we seeing turnover in homes? I think that would be a good idea,
especially with interest rates hopefully coming back down at the end of the month.
>> the month in a few days. >> that's end of my questions,
but tagging on to I guess what everybody has said,
like, we're on a journey, september 30, we are not going to reach the destination.
my encouragement to the community and hooray for all of you who have plugged in and are engaging us,
get on the trail with us. Stay on the journey with us.
we need you to continue down the path and be involved
in all the things that we need to happen because your engagement can make a difference in countless ways.
>> the state level. >> that is exactly what I'm alluding to. Anyway, reach out to any of us.
we are happy to engage you, but we need your participation along this journey.
we are not at the end point. >> it sounds like we're good to move forward with the timeline.
>> I use my opportunity to ask my question, but not to answer your question.
>> right >> only thing I need is I heard ms. Brown for new tech growth plan.
first of all, about new tech it's such a special school.
it plugs in a need for the kids who
really need that environment and not just that project based learning,
just that separate facility of it. It's one of the most special programs we have for the learners who need it the most.
but at the same time when we're talking about efficiencies,
we're talking about such huge deficits. We have to be
conscious that we are frugal and we are responsible with our taxpayers money.
we have one of the best principal.
principal then [inaudible] porter, you have no idea how much trust I have in you. Miss you can take that school to the heights,
we can't even imagine. I know it will take time.
you need your time, so whenever you work with the staff with
the district administrators and get us that plan of 2-3 years, you said,
ms. Brown, if we could get some time and when we would be expecting to see that because as we all have said,
this is a continued journey, this is not ending and that's a big piece of it.
having that in mind will we'll bring clarity to it,
and I'm sure there will be other community questions also about efficiencies,
but it's a very special choice for our learners,
and it deserves every chance that if we can preserve it,
we need to preserve it and we have the best principle to do that.
good luck and good speed in that. >> I want to give you guys my thoughts too.
to answer my own question, yes, I think we're good.
I'm good, and it sounds like you guys agree that moving forward to september 30,
there's a lot of angst and anxiety that is coming with this discussion?
we're seeing it. We've been living it for some time. It's been something we talked about,
we knew it was coming, just based on the things we've been talking about.
here's where I guess my question to you guys for a discussion,
and I think this is just based on the questions I've been listening to tonight and I think for me,
I've got some clarity as we're talking about several options. How do we over the next two weeks reduce some of that angst and anxiety and do we
focus our meeting on the 30th and our questions and decision on a singular option or two singular options.
I'm really struggling. When we look at the elementary options,
with the austin option being on there with it being some of the things we've talked about,
really in the walkability of true neighborhood school, and when I read,
even things the city puts out from a survey that they do every two or three years.
that's one of the things that really attracts people to compel was the neighborhood system that this district was built on.
I was struggling with that through the conversation, and the thing that I go back to especially when we talk about
being in youtube especially manish and leigh, for some time, expansion has
been something you guys have been championing and as I'm listening to the discussion,
the thing that comes to my mind with what's been proposed. This gives us one of the best opportunities,
I think, to really expand the program. Credit to our pto leaders and staff and
those at pinkerton the last several years that have made a really concentrated effort to grow it there,
and, from a number standpoint, it's almost capped out. I think for me,
I look at that and I think there's some opportunities there. But I would just be curious to know what you guys think about going
forward with the three options on the table or would you be willing to take one off?
>> just clearing off president caviness, you're asking us to eliminate one of the elementary school choice.
>> I'll be specific. I'm asking if you guys had any interest in eliminating the austin choice.
>> all the emails I've read from some of the comments from a lot of research,
and a lot of decisions we're making over here is hoping for the best because we know we keep on fighting on increasing our enrollment.
with the dart silver line coming next to
pinkerton with austin being in the middle of neighborhood,
a lot more in the middle of neighborhood than pinkerton. With the house prices of austin most
viable to promote rejuvenation of our elementary school.
if I have to choose between those two schools for the future keeping destination district years from today,
coppell isd being a destination district years from today.
I'm not considering the age of facilities in this so much,
even though that's a factor to me. Austin gives us a lot more viability and puts
us in a better position having austin in one of our elementary school over pinkerton.
that's where my head is right now.
>> I think your question was, do we take it off the table now? What I was hearing you say is to spare.
I don't quite understand. I feel like we've come this far and I don't want to do anything prematurely.
I still have a lot of space and time to think about some of this stuff.
I don't think I'm ready for that. I don't know if that would help or hurt our community this time.
we've got two more weeks, and it seems a little early to do that.
but I guess I'm still on the fence, so that's why I need more time.
>> I'd be fine
removing austin from the table only because of the strategy piece I've talked about before.
because if you are talking about choice and expanding choice,
then what I've heard from last I think two years maybe
is ib is the one that everybody wants to see and expand,
and you can't because it is physically limited in the space that is currently in.
if you are going from a strategy perspective to move it to a different location,
expand it and see. Let's see how big it gets and see if you can do it.
that's the thing that would make the most sense to me from a long term, all the other pieces I think are very important,
things that sethi mentioned. We mentioned other things about rejuvenation and all the rest of that,
but if you're talking about how do you increase enrollment,
provide more options to place people into a school,
that seems the logical decision.
>> their thoughts.
>> when I look at the options available to us.
on one hand, chelsea walker, I definitely understand where you're coming from.
on the other hand, I'm looking at we need to get some of the stuff off the table because I think
keeping it all on the table makes it tougher on the 30th than it does expediting and getting through this.
for me, you could take new tech off with the stipulation of having a plan.
I would take that off. I would take austin off because of the location and being in the center of town.
we've done this once before. The only reason that we did leave because we were putting something in place of it.
but this case, if you have an empty space, you have to have a use of function for it immediately.
we'll keep it until we figure something out. I'm looking at let's get this down to something that we can market and drive home.
but for me, I would be okay with removing it with
the understanding because of the fact that it does have capacity utilization already in place.
the purpose of having the bond was to fix the building, to upgrade it, to be suitable for occupancy for additional years.
I think those things come into play in that regard. But I think we're going to have to drive this down to
a meaningful discussion when we get there because at the end of the day on the 30, we may not do anything in that because we're driving this thing down.
but if we have too many options on the table, we're going to still be kicking the same can and having a longer conversation for me.
>> I agree with the point with the stipulation of getting a plan of how we are going to increase enrollment,
overall efficiency for new tech, we can take that off the list for this year.
or whatever that plan is for all those years.
I don't want to make a plan with the asterisk because then it's not a plan.
>> right. >> whatever the pan comes we'll fully support it.
>> some of the reasons of the attrition, people are wondering whether or not it's going to be on there or not. I don't know.
>> we can put asterisk. Otherwise plan never works. >> if it is off table,
then you're saying, yes, we're going to commit. [overlapping] >> off the table. >> rebuild it. >> based on plan.
>> based on the plan and then as key metrics come through as we're evaluating, we'll see how it goes.
>> that's what seeing that banned sooner than later, it's important for us.
>> add plus one that removal as well. >> our stuff is going down.
I had folded up my stuff and gotten my glasses, and we're making some pretty,
wow, this took a turn. This is happening, and this is pretty big.
what I'm hearing right now is the question is,
do we take austin off the table, and do we take new tech off the table? Is that what we're discussing right now?
>> that seems to be a new tech with the stipulation that we all come together with
the solid plan based on what dr. Brooks had shared with us earlier.
>> [inaudible] >> correct. Yeah. With time to put it in place,
a 2-3 year process, I believe is what I heard. >> that has been previously,
and I'll reiterate that for us to do a robust plan that is worthy of what I believe the school board is asking of us,
it's going to take more than a week, two weeks. >> absolutely, it should.
>> you have many other things in those two weeks. >> but not to muddy the water,
if we could finish the austin one first and then go back to new tech because to your point, ms. Walker,
there was one direction and then going another and I just want to make sure that I am clear with
the expectations of the board and I know what my marching orders are for not only wednesday,
but next weekend as we prepare for september 30th.
>> you guys are all looking at me. >> I'll go if you don't want to.
>> yeah, nichole, you go. >> I'll give you a minute, leigh. When I think about us potentially needing capacity,
when I think about us growing programs that are thriving, adding enrollment, remaining strategic and being a destination.
to me, for a month, I've been saying that's grow ib.
that and part of what makes us a destination school district is also neighborhood schools,
and so when we combine those two factors, I did not think I was going to come in here tonight ready to eliminate anything.
I'll be honest, but I would be okay taking austin off the list,
and I'm okay with a plan taking new tech off the list.
>> just going through my notes. I'm definitely okay with taking new tech off of the list.
I think we need to give that program a good amount of
time to grow and just come up with a strategy for that.
I'm thinking that I really like the possibility of expanding the ib program,
that is our big plus. I'm also hopeful about
the overall efficiency with
that change and the location of austin being right there in the middle of the town.
to me, keeping that makes more sense with the information that I can process right now.
I think I'm okay with the option of taking austin off of the list.
>> dr. Hunt, I'm going to ignore what you said. I'm going to start with new tech because I,
too, I am fine with taking. >> it's okay. Everybody [laughter] [inaudible]
>> we don't follow instructions well apparently. >> just to give a decent clarity,
give the community some clear. That's what we're asking for. Given how painful all of this is,
we just want to be able to focus and do what we need to do. Because as I've said many times,
austin could be any one of the footprints. We talked about that. You know why we picked it.
we've said that the age of it, it's place within the community.
but we just need to know where you want us to go.
>> with new tech, I would want us to commit to truly taking it off the table.
I don't feel personally that we have given new tech
the systematic support from the board for it to be able to do what it needs to do.
if we're going to take it off the table, then we take it off the table. We have a plan that lets it fly for three years or at least.
that's a commitment because a half measure just prolongs.
if you think there's any chance that you're going to enroll your kid as a ninth grader,
and as a tenth grader, the school is gone, you will not do it. We have to commit to that,
I don't think we have done that in the past four years, and so if we take it off the table, guys,
we take it off the table, and we end this conversation for a couple of years,
whatever it looks like from staff. If you guys are comfortable with that, I will do it,
but I am not comfortable in saying, let's take it off right now to revisit it in 18 months.
y'all are on board then? In that case, then let's do this thing.
let's do it. Fish or cut bait, let's fish. Back to pinkerton.
I didn't realize tonight. For the audience, I'm a pinkerton cowpoke.
I met my husband in third grade on the playground.
all three, we moved here so that our kids would go to the school that we grew up in.
my sisters, I took them to school the first day at pinkerton.
I dropped my son off for kindergarten at pinkerton.
I brought my newborn baby to ms. Kirkley at pinkerton,
so I get it. I get this beyond.
it's not just my story, but when I've heard all of this,
I actually will be very vulnerable with you because I thought to myself,
why am I on the board right now if I'm going to have to vote to close something I love so much.
that's when I think god puts you where you're supposed to be.
if I can look at this decision as someone who knows
incredibly what this means to our community and what it means to so many families.
I can say, I think this is the right decision, then it's probably time.
that it's been very hard for me to deal with.
again, I did not think I would be doing this tonight.
but I agree, when I come back to that decision,
my values, like what truly guides me in this time and place,
it's that people, I do this,
we are the church, steeple, it's the people, and our people are going to make it no matter what the facility is.
looking at the information that we have gotten, you are right. Austin is a neighborhood school where our kids and families can walk.
it makes sense. Pinkerton has been such a place for this community for so long.
no matter what we do moving forward on september 30th, I think it's time for us to honor and treasure and lean into that, what it has been.
to what all of you guys have said, this plan is the best plan that I
see moving forward to grow the program that it really is.
I worry about wilson, I'm worried about that. We are affecting two schools in a fundamental way.
but the fact of the matter is no matter what we decide, we're affecting schools in a fundamental way.
I have thought many times, am I going to be able to raise my hand?
am I be able to have this conversation? The only way I could do that is to take the leadership position and say,
I think this is the right thing to do. To say that to you guys, to listen to everything,
I have in my mind that taking austin off the table makes sense.
I know we have two more weeks to think about what that looks like for our remaining one that's on the table.
but I agree with you guys, and I think we have to do the right thing right now.
>> this is tough, and I didn't come into the night thinking we were coming here either.
listening to the conversation, listening to the questions,
some things just become clear and what I struggle with right now in the community is the anxiety that's out there,
not only the community, what it's doing to our kids is where I'm really struggling
when you see we're having some very adult conversations in this room,
and our kids are watching, and it really is affecting them. Being able to get to a tough conversation for this board has been hard for many years.
this is the first time we're having this conversation just so everybody in the community knows it's not
something we've talked about one off here and there.
it's been hard. We've been in the trenches together.
we built a dad's club there. It was your brain child and we took it to a high level.
it's tough to know that we're coming to some tough decisions in a couple of weeks.
again, just because we're taking things off the table tonight doesn't mean we're going forward with what's left on the table.
I think there's still a lot of questions to get answered.
a lot of things we need to talk about, especially on dli. I said it earlier,
that one gave me a pause last week and just trying to figure out what those moving pieces are.
I'll leave it at that. That's where I'm at too. I think to all the point that's made,
we're moving forward to september 30th. You asked a question, leigh,
about adding an additional date. I didn't hear a desire across the board for that.
are we okay having the town hall on wednesday and then having the time in between to process,
ask questions, get information, and for a deeper discussion again on the 30th?
>> it's a question for you, dr. Hunt. I don't think we need a separate workshop,
but will it be possible to get a little bit more insight
on how district plans to outreach the dli community of wilson?
if we can get that before the action item, that will help us.
>> well, I think we can do that. I again, want clarity in that,
if you are not wanting dli to merge on one campus,
we will have to go back to our other schools to look at where ib could go to.
if that is the case and those other schools, as we've named them previously,
cottonwood creek and town center, we could also look at any of the others.
if that is a direction we're supposed to go, then I would think it would only be fair to have some type of meeting like this
because anytime you affect anybody's situation,
we're going to hear from that. I don't want it to be a bait and switch that, well, a lot of people complained,
so this is off the table. Well, that's going to be another group complaining, so we just have to be aware of that and be transparent with that.
because like we said, part of the reason why, even though I do think it could have program benefits,
even though we've heard from some families that they see program negatives,
having more space at wilson to move ib. That was one of the reasons why we looked forward.
we would have to look at one of the other footprints, which we certainly can.
>> then that would result in still a duplication of dli in two schools, right?
if we didn't combine. >> that would be $250,000 savings.
>> but that's going back to the efficiency conversation.
in the comments that I made, it's very tough because we've heard from the community and
heard from the kids and the impact that it would have.
but like I said, it just doesn't seem like you can harbor an inefficiency when everything is going fine.
but as soon as the enrollment is down and the dollars are down,
that inefficiency has to be looked at. Otherwise, you're not being fiscally responsible.
>> what's really important to us this whole entire time is that we have a methodical process that we've worked through.
then all of a sudden now to be throwing new options in left and right,
I'm highly uncomfortable with that. >> we're not advocating for that. I just want to be clear because when you all
talk about wanting more information about dli, more that we're going to share to you is basically going to be the same things.
it's not an efficient model now. It may not be what most parents want right now,
but they don't know what it could be. I do think that if given a chance,
we could really make that program even stronger, hearing feedback about what we need to do to ensure that that still happens,
there's that component of that. But I just want to be real clear on that because I
never really know for sure what direction you're going, I just want to make sure that I'm on the same page with you
all as far as expectations because like many of you, I wasn't expecting this outcome to be happening
now and I'm not opposed to it or in favor of it. It's news to me too,
so I just want to make sure that I'm going in the right direction for what you all need me to do. >> just to clarify my comment.
I wasn't alluding to any other options because I agree with [inaudible] at this stage, and new option.
that's just not fair to any part of our community. My only part was being,
we've done so many outreach, ms. Brown, your team has done such a great job.
I was just looking for more assurances to the community of how that outreach might be coming to them.
it's not the whole program of how dli is going to work.
I'm more concerned about that we are going to take care of our community,
we are going to take care of our learners and we have solid plans to outreach to them that nobody gets left behind.
>> I'm really unsettled with dli. The efficiency piece,
I'm not unsettled with. But some of the questions I asked tonight,
I have a really I have a really hard time knowing if I'm okay with it being at denton creek,
or if I would push and advocate for it to be at wilson.
I don't really know where I'm at on that because of some of the questions that were asked tonight.
I may be the only one who feels that unsettled, but it does lead to what you're talking about of,
if I pushed for wilson and I don't know that I would or wouldn't, but if I did, then it's pulling a thread in the whole thing.
that makes me wonder, do we need another,
maybe everybody else is very settled on dli and and I'm the outlier.
I have a hard time with us potentially getting information from staff and asking questions when we've done
such a great job of being transparent with the community and having these conversations publicly and you guys updating
the presentation to answer questions that I also don't want to feel anybody to
be under the impression that there's anything sneaky going on or anything either.
there's not, but I don't want to do anything to fuel that narrative either if people besides me need additional information about dli.
>> like I said, I may be the only one, so that's okay too. >> you're the only one because I think the issues that were brought up by
all the families tonight and the questions that we've asked.
>> frankly, the questions we've been asking. [overlapping] I appreciate the input but we've been asking eternal questions.
>> they're all hyper-relevant to whatever is going on and how to consolidate and where.
I think that will answer, I think, all the questions that we have out there,
if you can provide them to us and then that would help to know. Now, do we need to talk about that in another meeting to have them delivered to us?
I don't know. I'll leave that to the group.
we have a discussion on the 30th.
>> by the way, what does the 30th look like? Will we have multiple things on the agenda as the exact planning committee,
it means that usually we have a pretty heavy. >> maybe do this one first.
let's get through this piece because that does impact wednesday, and then we can certainly talk about the 30th.
I don't mean to cut you off. But because I feel like what I'm hearing from different people are different things,
and I also don't want to put staff in a bad spot. If they've got additional comments or questions or concerns,
again, I want to be transparent, but I also want to be clear of what it is that you're expecting us to do because
if you're not comfortable with dli being merged,
that does impact where ib is going to go.
>> I'm comfortable with it being merged. I'm not settled on where it should be.
I'm really wrestling with that and I could not make
a decision about that tonight because I don't have the information I need.
>> it should be between dce and wilson.
>> I totally understand that, but I asked some very specific questions tonight because I need more information.
>> that comes back to my september 30th question if it's just a vote or if it's
actually supposed to be a working discussing meeting because if that's.
>> regular meeting. We've kept the agenda into actually lights because I'm certain there's going to be open forum.
we had 83 people tonight. I don't know why that would change.
we had that during covid with mask, no mask. Now there was one point, I think we had three hours of open forum.
I don't expect that to change. There are some business items that need to be done and so we need to address that piece.
but for the most part, we'll be reviewing the options and board making a decision.
the option may only be an option if we're whittling things down tonight.
but again, in order for one school to consolidate,
it impacts other elementary schools, and especially if it's a specialized program school,
which it sounds like that's the direction that you're taking me,
then it has to be at a place where it takes the majority of the kids and educators.
we could do dli to wilson,
then ib would go to denton creek, if we're trying to just keep within that.
we did talk about cottonwood creek and town center, but not in a group where people were able to weigh in on that.
>> that's the question I asked. If it was the other way around,
what are the pros and cons of it? >> sure.
>> it sounds like that option would be the one that doesn't
disrupt everything and pull another school into the conversation.
>> well, it just still continues to be the three schools that were already in the conversation.
>> that's just a gamble for denton creek parents then. >> there will some spillover to some.
I know 25% of pinkerton was to austin,
but there could be some denton creek people that might be displaced that
weren't on the radar initially because they're not in the dli program,
but they are zoned to denton creek. Or, we hear this a lot from staff,
the north and victory place too, but mainly the north staff like denton creek is that they're out of
district option because they can drop their kid off right there and they work at north.
we do hear that from some staff members that are not employed at denton creek,
but they're at victory place or mainly north.
>> we need to have this more information gotten and then
schedule a workshop to talk about it.
>> if board members want any other option, I would want that in a workshop,
not in the formal meeting. That's for every board member's privilege and working with dr. Hunt.
my only thing is, I'm okay to go with what you're presenting,
but if we're going to look at any other options, then we need a workshop.
>> I would agree with that. If y'all want to see different iterations, then for sure.
at least be able to view it, see it, talk about it.
>> to be honest, the only attrition I would want to see, going back to the question I asked,
is what if it was flipped? What if dce had?
to me, the reason I gave before is about the equity part in my mind,
and I may be totally wrong because I do not have the data, but from the high level, I understand,
it's more comfortable for dce side of the community,
if they have to travel. It's not easy, but to me,
there is some part of equity that wilson parents might find it
much harder to transport their kids to a different school.
should that be the only decision for us? No. But if you're looking at options,
I wouldn't want to involve a third school right now. I would want it only between these two schools.
>> that could be another option is ib, like I said,
cottonwood creek or town center, but it does bring in another school to it.
>> I don't want to see that. >> I agree with you on that, manish.
>> I think we would have to really talk about it because then everybody that's
zoned to pinkerton would then they be zoned to wilson? Can wilson handle?
if you don't want to do you're actually zoned pinkerton, you don't choose ib,
then can wilson or where would they be zoned?
there are, as you say, threads that are pulled. >> 50% of the pinkerton children are already commuting because through lottery,
50% who we in pinkerton, they again get much affected.
it's still the three schools which are affected because now if they want to continue ib,
which I strongly believe they want to continue ib, they would have to figure out a way to drop the kids at denton creek,
which is much further away than wilson. >> but half of pinkerton is zoned to pinkerton.
>> that's the 50% I'm talking about. >> then 25% would go to austin. >> we're going to be affecting about 200 kids by this option.
those are the pros and cons I think. >> so we would have to discuss. >> nichole is asking for.
>> this would have to. >> the equity piece is part of what I need answered to help me get my mind about dli.
>> that's what I keep on saying about the outreach part, is there a way to bridge that equity part?
because many of those families don't even speak english,
if we can find an effective way to bridge that gap,
is the least disruptive of what's presented, but there is a big equity part in my head.
>> I don't want to make assumptions. That's part of why I'm asking you staff for the data because there
was an assumption tonight that most of the native spanish speakers live in the trailer parks.
that hasn't been my experience, and my kids had friends that lived in the trailer parks. I don't want to make assumptions that one school district or
one campus versus another has an easier time doing x, y, and z.
that's why I'm asking for the data. >> asking for the communication plan. My head was exactly they're not making assumptions.
just tell me what your solution is. >> because the same affordable housing option is also at denton creek.
denton creek have that type of a neighborhood, and so we don't want to make assumptions.
>> we don't want to make assumptions. >> exactly. >> but we also know there is that walkability factor when you're just across the street,
and so we want to be respectful of that. >> are you moving towards a workshop next monday and is that possible? I guess that's it.
>> I think anything is possible. I don't think it has to necessarily be on monday.
again, we were very strict with all the principals, do not have anything on these events because we do not want there to be a conflict.
that's why the chs9 changed their open house from wednesday.
they were going to have it at town hall and we said that's not going to work for a lot of reasons. Anyway, long story short,
let us look at some dates for it next week because it could be a tuesday or a wednesday because it depends upon.
>> wednesday is homecoming parade. >> homecoming and it has the tasb. >> but I guess it's monday.
>> or tuesday. >> if you're asking a lot for us for staff,
remember we're working on wednesday too. It's planned out. It's not like there's a lot of planning of that,
but that is a time absorber.
>> commitment. >> yeah, time commitment is a better way to say it. We're not able to work on other items.
>> let me ask a question to nichole a little bit differently.
if the district can present their communication plan in a way that I think we have the same doubt in our heads.
if they believe with their communication and their outreach efforts,
they can bridge and stick with the current plan because there are obviously benefits of that for the ib program,
at least affecting pinkerton. Do you still have those concerns?
because that's what I asked is present us with a real communication plan,
which is not a plan on how dli is going to work. It's just more of a outreach,
which we do in so many different ways throughout the year.
what will be the communication plan to outreach every parent that we don't leave anyone who really wants to benefit from dli.
we don't leave any of that family behind. Would you still want to see other option?
>> that piece, I believe we can do. It may not be fully fleshed out, but at least a big component to it.
we certainly talked about other footprint schools housing ib.
we just didn't bring it forward because we also factored in age of the building and other things.
we could go back to some of that preliminary work to show you all why it was not selected to begin with, but.
>> I feel like I'm the outlier here to a degree with the dli thing,
but I don't need us to do what we did with the andre realignment seven years ago where we ended up working up 10 different plan.
really, if we were considering either ib or
dli at denton creek and then the inverse true at wilson,
if I could get the questions answered, I'm not sure that I need another workshop,
but I do need to know more than the percentage of kids that are bused to each of the campuses.
>> yeah. We can certainly continue pulling that data. Again, we could also look at the inverse of that.
it's just when you think of where some of the zoned pinkerton kids are in denton creek, it's pretty far.
to your point, if they just decided, well, I don't want to do ib anymore,
where else would we go? We would have to look at that as staff. I don't think we have that handy.
I'm looking at the team and I feel like the answer is we don't.
>> if you're not zoning pinkerton.
>> I didn't want to speak for anybody, but. >> that was a don't make eye contact.
>> it feels like I'm over. For me, maybe you guys just need to answer the questions and
email them out to the board and maybe it doesn't need a workshop.
I don't know. But to vote on the 30th, I don't have the information that I need about the dli program.
>> sure. >> let's see if you get what you're looking for.
we have until friday to decide if it's going to be monday. Well, or tuesday because yeah.
>> tuesday seems better. >> yes, ma'am. >> I had a question.
nichole, would you just clarify the questions one more time?
>> my big ideas are the question that's not
answered based on the percentage of kids that are busing. For me, the kids on each of those campuses that are qualified
for the dli program out of state requirements and need.
what percentage of those kids are walking to campus? What percentage of those kids fall into our low socioeconomic,
where there might be a legitimate hardship on families being able to engage on the other campus.
those are the two big questions I really need answered, angie, to be able to make an informed decision.
>> we can do that. Correct. >> do you want it for both schools?
>> yeah, I would like it for both schools. >> we'll do that. >> thank you.
>> someone have a plan for that question then? Moving forward.
>> as far as the answer? >> yeah. A strategy for getting what you're looking for,
you guys? That's what I just heard.
>> you guys are going to email us first. >> that's what I'm saying. >> I'm fine with that. I'm fine with being emailed the answers to my questions.
like we do at regular board meetings. >> then you're going to decide if you're still not comfortable when you read about it.
>> yes. >> perfect. What else? >> a move we adjourn.
>> before we do that. Just clarity for the team.
new tech, a three-year plan?
>> yes. >> yes. >> austin, we're not moving forward with austin.
>> correct. >> ib at wilson or denton creek.
>> we don't know. >> dual language at wilson or denton creek. But pinkerton is being consolidated with the other schools that we have,
I guess it was 75%. >> we don't know that yet. [overlapping] but it's still on the sheet.
>> then if we could end on that slide about wednesday, naveen.
wednesday at chs9. Again,
5:30 is when we'll open up the doors to sign up, and we're going to ask people to stop signing up by 6:15,
so we can have a good idea of how many people that will determine if it's a minute or a minute and a half and we'll have a few short slides,
but it will really be an opportunity for the community to provide input. >> I second manish's motion.
>> we have a motion to adjourn by trustee manish sethi, seconded by trustee nichole bentley. All in favor?
that motion passes 7-0. Just a reminder to everybody too before you cut the mic off if you don't mind.
we've talked a lot about legislative stuff and just a reminder for you guys.
next week the chamber does have an opportunity to hear from our state senator.
then I don't have the exact date. Yeah, the 25th.
then in a few weeks, there will be a forum for our house 115 candidates.
go to the website for that information, coppell chamber and that's all. Thank you all.
>> thank you.