January 2004
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RECOGNITIONS

The Board of Trustees recognized the following students and staff members for their achievements:

• Langham Creek High School teacher Tom Wurst for receiving the National Distinguished Teaching Achievement Award for outstanding teaching by the National Council for Geographic Education.
• George Hobson, associate superintendent for business services, and the business office staff for receiving a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and also receiving the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting Award from the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) for the district’s comprehensive annual financial report for the fiscal year that ended August, 31, 2002. This is the seventh consecutive year that the business office has received the GFAO award.
• Forty students from Cy-Fair High School, 33 from Cypress Creek High School, 22 from Cypress Falls High School, 13 from Cypress Springs High School, 29 from Jersey Village High School and 26 from Langham Creek High Schoolwere named either semi-finalists, commended students or achievement scholars for exceptional achievement on the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. (For a complete listing of students from each campus, visit the district’s Web site at www.cfisd.net.)

Additionally, the superintendent designee recognized students and staff members for honors and achievements earned in recent weeks. Congratulations were extended to the following:

• One hundred and thirty-seven district students competed in the Culture Shapers Art Competition, which is open to all high school students in the Region IV area. The contest is divided into eight categories and CFISD students walked away with $27,500 in cash awards. The district featured three first place winners from the eight categories for $5,000 each. The success of these, and all visual arts students, would not have been possible without the support and dedicated efforts of the district’s creative and talented art teachers.  
• Tyler Araguz, a second grader at Wilson Elementary, was one of six finalists from more than 9,000 entries in the recent Houston Chronicle Design-A-Cover contest. His artwork was published in the Chronicle’s December 14 Lifestyle section. His teacher is Lois Morton.
• Jowell Elementary teacher Jan Englander has been asked by the School Programs Manager at the Museum of Fine Arts to create an exhibit to hang by the Museum’s resource center. The exhibit will also involve her fourth grade students who were inspired by the Gees Bend Quilt Exhibit. The 20 or so selected works will hang from June until December 2004. There will be an opening reception in September.
• The Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) has selected the Langham Creek Men’s Choir to perform at the association’s Clinic and Convention in San Antonio in February. Choirs are selected to perform at TMEA through a recorded audition process. It has been several years since a men’s choir has been selected to perform at the convention. Jed Ragsdale is the director of the Langham Creek Men’s Choir and Cathy Wofford is the head choir director. Tammy Patterson was also commended for the leadership role she plays in developing the vocal music program in CFISD.
• The Langham Creek High School Symphonic Band, directed by Scott Meadow,was selected to perform at the first general session of the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) Midwinter Conference in Austin Monday, January 26.
• Cypress Springs graduate Catherine “Cat” Osterman, the 2003 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year, is one of only 15 female athletes in the nation to be chosen to play for the USA Softball team that will compete at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Osterman is the only current college student on the roster.

2004-2005 CALENDAR

After receiving authorization from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to begin school earlier than the date established by state law (SB108), trustees approved the calendar for the 2004-2005 school year. School will begin August 11, 2004, and the first semester will end before the winter break. The second semester will begin January 4, 2005, and the last day of school for students is May 25, 2005. Full-week holidays are scheduled for Thanksgiving and Spring Break. Details are available on the district’s web site at www.cfisd.net.

NAMESAKES

Trustees approved the namesakes for four future schools and the district’s existing security facility, honoring long-time educators LaFaye Lee, Tom Danish, Judy Kahla, and Carolyn Spillane as well as retired security director Ben Bradley. Superintendent Rick Berry, who attended the meeting for this special occasion, made the announcement.

LaFaye Johnson Lee Elementary School is currently under construction at a 13-acre site located along W. Little York, east of N. Eldridge Parkway. Bay Architects, Inc. has designed the school using similar plans from the construction of Tipps and Farney elementary schools. The district’s 41st elementary campus is scheduled to open with the start of the 2005-2006 school year.

Thomas M. Danish Elementary School is currently under construction at a 10.9-acre site located along Fallbrook just west of F.M. 1960. The district’s 42nd, and final new elementary originating from the 2001 bond election, will open in August of 2005. The school was designed by PBK Architects, Inc. and modeled after Sampson, Ault, Gleason and Willbern elementary schools.

Julia Williams Kahla Middle School is currently under construction at a 50-acre site along W. Little York between Highway 6 and Queenston Boulevard. The school was modeled after Goodson Middle School and designed by Bay Architects Inc. The district’s 13th middle school will be the third new campus opening at the start of the 2005-2006 school year.

Carolyn Stamm Spillane Middle School is currently under construction at the multi-campus site located at Jarvis and Skinner roads where Robison Elementary opened this school year. The school was designed by SHW Architects, Inc. and modeled after Aragon Middle School. Previously known as Middle School #14, the campus will be the fourth new school to open in August 2005, marking the second and final middle school originating from the 2001 bond election.

The Ben D. Bradley Security Center is located on Telge Road north of Highway 290 adjacent to Arnold Middle School. The facility first opened in the spring of 2002 and serves as the centralized base for the district’s safety and security operations. The building was a project made possible through interest earnings and project cost savings from the 1998 bond election.

NEW PRINCIPALS

Following the Board’s approval of personnel transactions, Superintendent Berry announced that current Holbrook Principal Deborah Harbin was chosen as the principal to open Dr. Peggy Bell Duryea Elementary, and current Jowell Principal Patty Mooney was chosen as the principal to open Gwen Wayman Keith Elementary. The two principals will relocate to the Instructional Support Center in March to begin the complicated process of opening the two new campuses and hiring staff. Principals for Holbrook and Jowell will be named at a Board meeting later this year.

FUND BALANCE REPORT

Trustees approved the designation of a portion of the district’s unreserved and undesignated fund balance of $75,694,095 per the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report dated June 30, 2003. Trustees were advised in December that lawmakers might be considering a plan that would take away any undesignated funds from school districts fortunate enough to have built a reserve in an effort to resolve the state’s public school finance woes. With roughly $75 million in undesignated funds at the present time, CFISD would be gravely impacted by such action. In an effort to protect the fund balance, the district is taking pro-active measures to assign undesignated funds to reserved status— in essence splitting the balance over budgeted areas such as cash flow, construction needs, budget deficits, self-funded insurance, arbitration and emergencies. Other Houston-area school districts have already adopted or are reviewing similar plans.

PUBLIC HEARINGS FOR 2004-05 BUDGET AND BOARD GOALS

The district has scheduled two hearings to collect public input on the district’s budget and goals for the 2004-05 school year. All CFISD residents are invited to offer ideas, comments or suggestions during either of the hearings scheduled for January 29 at Labay Middle School and February 3 at Francone Elementary School. Both forums will begin at 7 p.m. The information gathered at these hearings will be shared with the Board of Trustees, which will establish priorities for the next school year during its annual Goal-Setting Workshop scheduled for February 20-21 in the Board room of the ISC.

BOND UPDATE

Trustees approved the construction contract award to Gamma Construction in the amount of $9,998,000, which is a savings of $1.9 million over the budgeted amount, for the new Transportation Center and the Eldridge Road Agriculture Facility to be located adjacent to Cypress Ridge High School and the Telge Road Agriculture Facility to be located behind to the Exhibit Center.

SURPLUS PROPERTY

Trustees approved an administrative recommendation to declare a 25.6-acre site located just north of West Little York and Greenhouse Road adjacent to Jowell Elementary School as surplus property.

The site had been retained by the district for possible use in the construction of a future middle school. However, close proximity of existing middle schools and other sites in the area that would be more advantageous for future construction has led the district’s administration to deem the 25.6-acre property near West Little York as surplus. It is anticipated that the sale of this property would be used towards the purchase of other school sites.

WEST ORANGE COVE LAWSUIT

After discussing the ramifications of spending $50,000 to join the lawsuit, trustees decided against pursuing any legal action in joining the West Orange Cove Consolidated School District vs. Alanis litigation. Trustees discussed other methods that could be used to solve the school funding situation in Texas, including a special session of the Legislature that may be called by Governor Rick Perry, rather than spend the money and join the 70 other districts in the state in the lawsuit. Trustees also encouraged the Cy-Fair community to contact their local elected officials to express concerns about this critical issue. A list of legislative contacts can be found on the district’s Web site.

SUPERINTENDENT DESIGNEE’S BRIEFING

Superintendent Designee Pam Wells announced that the 10 th Annual Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Livestock Show and Sale is scheduled for Feb. 5-7 at the CFISD Exhibit Center, 11206 Telge Road. Approximately 350 animals will be exhibited during the livestock show and the judging will begin Thursday, February 5 at 10 a.m. The FFA student tour guide service will be available for elementary students February 5 and 6. The silent auction will be held on all three days featuring the 10 th Annual commemorative buckle and other craft items. The three-day event will conclude with the premium livestock auction beginning February 7 at 1 p.m. Ms. Wells invited all to attend to show support for the district students who have been working for months to prepare for the show and sale.

The annual Board Goal-Setting Workshop has been set for Feb. 20 and 21. Trustees and the administration will work to review, add and modify the necessary objectives to ensure a quality educational setting for district students. The Portrait of a Cypress-Fairbanks Graduate serves as the guiding principles for the workshop, and employees and parent groups throughout the district will be providing input in the coming weeks for trustees to consider. The Board Goal-Setting Workshop begins Friday at 6 p.m. in the Board room at the ISC, 10300 Jones Road and is open to the public. The two-day event continues Saturday morning.

CFISD will be celebrating School Board Recognition Month during February. Each Board member devotes many hours to employees, parents and children, as well as the community members in the Cy-Fair area. Because trustees are the ultimate volunteers, the district would like to thank them and honor them for their dedication. There will be a brief reception at the Feb. 9 Board meeting to provide those in attendance an opportunity to thank the district's trustees.

Ms. Wells informed the audience of the school colors that have been selected for High School No. 8 as well as Kahla and Spillane middle schools. Selection of the colors will now allow the architects to incorporate the colors in the design of these new schools. School colors for High School No. 8 are crimson red and gold, colors for Kahla Middle School are forest green and gold, and colors for Spillane Middle School are navy blue and gold.

As required by the Texas Education Agency, the district will be conducting field testing for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) and for the State-Developed Alternative Assessment II (SDAA II) late January through early February. The purpose of this testing is to validate specific test items for all subject areas that will be used on future TAKS and SDAA exams. The field testing will involve a select group of students from schools and grade levels as chosen by the Texas Education Agency.

In observance of Martin Luther King’s birthday, a school holiday was held Monday, January 19. All district facilities, including the ISC, were closed. School resumed January 20 and all support facilities reopened with normal business hours.

Ms. Wells announced that Governor Rick Perry recently appointed Dr. Shirley Neeley, former superintendent of Galena Park ISD, as the new Texas Commissioner of Education. Wells said that she is pleased with the governor’s selection and is looking forward to working with Dr. Neeley in her new role.

AGENDA ITEMS

In other action, the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Board of Trustees:

• received a report on the Report to Management prepared by Deloitte & Touche, external auditors, in conjunction with the annual financial audit for the year ended June 30, 2003;
• received a report on an additional option to consider regarding facilities to accommodate the district’s wrestling program;
• received a written report on legislative issues and the activities of the State Board of Education, Texas School Alliance and the Fast Growth School Coalition;
• received a written report on Clean Air grant activities and school bus purchases;
• approved the recommended vendors for the Voluntary Insurance Plans;
• approved the contracts for the associate superintendents and the school attorney;
• authorized tax refunds $500 or greater for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and/or the Harris County Education District in the amount of $80,417.34;
• approved bids and contracts from recommended vendors for goods and services; and
• approved 202 personnel recommendations, resignations, retirements, promotions, terminations and discharges.