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RECOGNITIONS

The superintendent recognized a group of students and staff members for honors and achievements earned in recent weeks. Congratulations were extended to the following:

• The Jersey Village High School Symphonic Band, which was recently named a commended winner in the National Wind Band Honors Project. Band director Denis Kidwell entered the contest with a recorded performance of the band; and
• Students who were selected to the new Lone Star College program M2C (middle school to college). The program offers selected students in grades 7-9 and their families free college prep workshops, mentoring and college scholarships. Selected students, along with their parents, must attend M2C workshops and will be eligible for a full scholarship to a Lone Star College upon graduation from high school. One-hundred twenty-five applications from 19 CFISD secondary campuses were submitted and 36 students were selected from the following schools: Aragon (1), Arnold (3), Bleyl (1), Cook (1), Goodson (6), Hopper (6), Smith (2), Thornton (3), Truitt (1), Cypress Creek (2), Cypress Lakes (4), Cypress Ranch (5) and Jersey Village (1).

SCHOOL OPENING DATES

The administration gave a report on a revised plan regarding the opening dates for new schools.

In a report to the Board of Trustees on Oct. 8, CFISD administration detailed plans to postpone opening dates of new schools in order to delay first-year expenditures and operating costs from the general operating budget. This change in the new construction timeline provides cost avoidances associated with the opening of new schools (high school, $5 million; middle school, $3 million; elementary school, $1.5 million).

Although CFISD’s student growth rate has slowed slightly since the Bond Steering Committee made its recommendations for school opening dates prior to the November 2007 Bond Election, the district continues to face challenges associated with rapid student enrollment growth.

Maximizing portable buildings and changing attendance boundaries will be evaluated as options to accommodate increases in the district’s student enrollment.

“ Given that we don’t know when our financial constraints will lessen and we are going to be postponing the dates for so many schools, we are currently re-evaluating all of our school sites to determine the maximum number of portable buildings we can put on each campus,” said Pam Wells, associate superintendent for facilities, planning and community relations. “We are going to use that data to make decisions about portable building allocations and the need for attendance boundary changes that would not be associated with a new school.”

According to Wells, renovation projects are being expedited to make more efficient use of the bond money while the construction of schools is delayed.

“ In the past we tried to spend the money first to take care of new schools and moved renovation projects to the end of our five-year bond program. We are reversing that right now to try to take advantage of good construction climate and use the bond funds that have already been sold,” Wells said.

TAX RATE

The Board adopted the 2009 Tax Rate Resolution to support the 2009-2010 Budget, a) 2009 Maintenance and Operations tax rate and b) 2009 Debt Service tax rate.

The Maintenance and Operations Tax Rate was approved at $1.04 and the Interest and Sinking Tax Rate was approved at $0.37 for a total tax rate of $1.41.

BOND UPDATE

The Board approved the granting of the 0.0226 acre Sanitary Sewer Easement with Harris County Municipal Utility District No. 501 for permanent utility service to Rennell Elementary School No. 52 and the future middle school located on the Towne Lake multi-campus site.

SUPERINTENDENT’S BRIEFING

The Salute to the Stars Gala will be held on Thursday, Oct. 22 at the Berry Center. The Gala is a special evening that honors CFISD’s 2008 Spotlight Teachers, representing each school. Salute to the Stars is a community event that, in addition to honoring outstanding teachers, also raises funds for student scholarships and innovative instructional grants for teachers.

The Heart Walk will be held on Saturday, Nov. 7at 9:30 a.m. Last year, CFISD had more than 600 participants and more are anticipated this year. The 3-mile walk will start at Lone Star College – Cy-Fair and raises funds for the American Heart Association. CFISD employees are asked to park at the Berry Center.

CFISD’s 10th-grade students will take the PSAT on Wednesday, Oct. 14. The time of the test is approximately 2½ hours. The district believes that this new initiative is a critical step in the continued focus on developing high school students’ academic skills. Students benefit from this testing as it provides practice for the SAT and information about college readiness.

School dedication ceremonies are planned for CFISD’s two new schools on Sunday, Oct. 18.

The dedication for Smith Middle School will begin at 1 p.m. and the dedication for Swenke Elementary School will begin at 4 p.m.

CFISD will celebrate Red Ribbon Week from Oct. 26 through Oct. 30. This national campaign is designed to encourage healthy, drug-free and violence-free lifestyles among youth. The district asked parents to take special time during this week to talk to their children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. Dr. Anthony said this is a great time for the community to show a united commitment toward a drug-free America.

“Your Mind, Your Future” day , a special focus day for college awareness among elementary students, took place on Oct. 7. Elementary school campuses will focus on college awareness throughout the month of October, and teachers will present age-appropriate information and discuss college majors with their classes. They will use College Board information, lessons and materials aimed at helping young students and their parents make early plans for higher education. CFISD’s guidance and counseling department coordinated the event.

Parents, students and staff are invited to attend the district’s 18 th Annual Health Organization of Physical Educators (HOPE) Fun Run, which will be held on Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Langham Creek High School track. More than 3,200 students, staff and community members participated in the HOPE Fun Run last year, in an effort to help raise funds to provide scholarships for graduating seniors who plan to pursue degrees in health education, physical education, recreation or dance.

Dr. Anthony reminded employees and community members to exercise the right to vote in CFISD’s Trustee Elections on Nov. 3 for positions 3 and 4. Early voting dates will be Oct. 19-30. The early voting locations within close proximity of Cypress-Fairbanks ISD are:

• City of Jersey Village City Hall , 16327 Lakeview Drive;
• Bear Creek Park Community Center , Bear Creek Drive at Patterson;
• Barbara Bush Library , 6817 Cypresswood;
• Lone Star College – Willowchase Campus, 9449 Grant Road; and
• Cypress Top Park, 26026 Hempstead Hwy.

For more information on Election Day polling sites, please visit www.harrisvotes.org.

AGENDA ITEMS

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

• the membership for the 2009-2010 District Textbook Committee;
• and submitted to the Commissioner of Education a Request for Maximum Class Size Waiver;
• bids and contracts to the recommended vendors and authorized the superintendent, respective associate superintendent or designee to execute all necessary documents related to such bids and contracts;
• tax refunds of $500 or greater for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD;
• a resolution nominating Katherine A. Trumbull as a candidate for a position on the Board of Directors of the Harris County Appraisal District for a term commencing on Jan. 1, 2010, and extending through Dec. 31, 2011;
• on first reading additions, deletions or revisions to district policies:
• CNB (LOCAL) TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT DISTRICT VEHICLES;
• CQ (LOCAL) ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION AND DATA MANAGEMENT;
• DBB (LOCAL) EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRICTIONS: Medical Examinations and Communicable Diseases; and
• GRA (LOCAL) RELATIONS WITH GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES: Local Governmental Authorities; and
• Rejection of the Quitclaim Deed recorded on November 29, 1990 under Harris County Clerk’s File Number M921051 where the grantor attempted to convey to the District property described as Lots Twenty-seven, Twenty-eight, Twenty-nine and Thirty. In Block Thirty Nine, of North Houston Addition, a subdivision in Harris County, Texas, according to the map or plat thereof recorded in Volume 4, Page 74 of the map records of Harris County, Texas.

ADDENDUM

The Board authorized the sale of a narrow strip of land located on West Road containing approximately .8077 acres of land to Versa Development, L.L.C.