It was an exciting day in the State's Capitol on March 3, 2011 - Tarrant County Day to be exact. A small contingency of Dragon supporters drove to the Capitol to conduct a rally on the south steps and meet with members of the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate.
The Carroll Senior High Show Choir sang the district's theme - The Power Of One - on the steps of the Capitol. The students were directed by one of Carroll ISD's finest, Chris Hutchison. They were marvelous and set the tone for the speeches to follow. School Board Trustee Sue Armstrong helped organize the event and encouraged supporters of public education to get involved and let their voices be heard. She emphasized that our message should be one to Make Education A Priority. Sue was followed by Superintendent David Faltys who thanked members of the Southlake community for taking time to travel to Austin to support public schools. CISD parent and local businessman Frank Bliss also addressed the crowd, urging lawmakers to protect public education funding.
It was a small rally, but with a powerful message. Carroll ISD parents Nancy Vegel and Tina Wasserman were among the rally organizers and helped deliver the 2,400+ letters and postcards from Dragon students, parents, employees and business leaders. Trustees Erin Shoupp and Sherri Williams were present, too. The Dragon message called for lawmakers to protect education funding, avoid unfunded mandates and ensure local control stays in the hands of the elected Board Trustees who are responsible for the educational services provided to children in the community. Those in attendance actually spent March 2 and 3 visiting individually with key members of the House/Senate.
Last fall, Carroll ISD joined more than half of the public school districts in Texas to support Aledo ISD's campaign to Make Education A Priority. We like this message because it has a positive focus and encourages respectful dialogue among supporters of K-12 schools and the lawmakers who set the budget. We realize the difficulty they face with a $27 billion shortfall. It appears cuts to public education are inevitable, but there are those who are hoping the lawmakers will reconsider just how deep those cuts will have to be. Pressure to dip into the state's Rainy Day Fund to the tune of $4.3 billion is coming from powerful members of the House Appropriations Committee.
One of the highlights of our visit in Austin is when District 89 Representative Vicki Truitt brought friend and colleagues Jim Pitts of Waxahachie out to greet our Dragon supporters. Pitts said he believes the Appropriations Committee is ready to support such a move, but the vote on the House floor, however, will take some work. Still, it was the first sign of hope for an otherwise dismal outlook for public schools. After all, more than 60 percent of the public schools in Texas are already dipping into their Fund Balance to cover costs.
In a nutshell, districts cannot keep up with rising operating expenses with target revenue numbers from 2005-2006. In addition, the Legislature used Stimulus funds to supplant public education, knowing those funds were not going to be available past the biennium. Although districts all across the state are trimming their budgets and trying to reduce expenses, revenues are not keeping up with costs.
There are those who believe that school officials should remain silent as the lawmakers enact Legislation that will significantly affect the public education services we are able to provide. To do so, we believe, would not be responsible. We have communicated and educated our public about the situation, about the financial outlook at the state and local level and about bills that have been filed that could affect them as parents and taxpayers. While we are not necessarily lobbying for particular legislation or bills, we are doing our best to keep you informed and to make sure you understand the proposals that would affect you as taxpayers, employees and supporters of public education. We believe being advocates for children is part of our job. The expenses related to the rally, postcards, etc. have been paid for by parents or private donations.
We don't know the outcome of these statewide efforts, but we have to look in the mirror at the end of the day and know that we have done what we could to educate and communicate with you about these important issues. Your Board of Trustees has been working tirelessly to trim the local budget, make prudent financial decisions and avoid employee layoffs that will affect your children. Although we've already cut $2 million out of the daily operating budget (mostly at central office level), the Board announced recently that it will make possible schedule changes for the 2012-2013 school year. They hope to avoid layoffs before then and to accommodate positions losses through attrition (resignations, retirements and reassignments). Still unknown, however, is just how much more the state funding deficit will grow. Please continue to follow our website, MySouthlakeNews.com and the Expenditure Reduction link to stay informed as the 82nd Legislative Session continues this spring.
And thank you too all who have written letters, postcards or made phone calls on behalf of the children of Carroll ISD and the children of Texas. Please keep up these efforts to Make Education A Priority!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Carroll Closes As Texas Temperatures Drop Dramatically
Well, Dragons, it was another early morning for our transportation officials and district administrators. This call today wasn't quite so easy up until the moment the districts in our area all began to close. First of all, some of the roads we expected to be wet were still significantly dry at 5 a.m. Conditions this morning were nothing like last week where ice already covered a significant portion of the roadways.
Still, while we were conferencing one school administrator was out driving the roads. In fact, he had been since about 4:30 a.m. this morning. He reported that there were trees beginning to ice up and puddles with ice forming around the edges, but roadways were suprisingly clearer than expected. As the first signs of sleet began to fall, we started getting word that other districts were considering going to school and just releasing early. This is never really a good option.
As we were conferencing with area superintendents, the temperature began to drop dramatically - like one degree for every minute. In the course of 15 minutes, decisions became a little more clear, with a band of snow - now predicted at only 1-2 inches instead of the 2-4 first predicted - following behind the sleet. The administrator out driving the roads noted that temps dropped seven degrees in an 11-minute period.
One by one, districts made the decision to close. It seemed with temperatures continuing to drop and the wind howling outside, we didn't stand much of a chance of getting a full day in before dealing with difficult roadways and trying to get everyone home safely.
At the time the call was made, it seemed the right thing to do, though all agreed this one was close and could have gone either way. Hours from now when you read this column, that may sound ridiculous.
Hindsight is always 20-20. We realize that states on the east coast and in the midwest/northern part of the country go to school in conditions far worse. In fact, we often get calls from individuals who question our decisions once they have gotten up to drive to work and things "seem fine."
However, this is Texas. And the weather changes dramatically in short periods of time. Our decisions are being made for thousands of school children and employees hours before commuters start their morning trek to work. We have to consider the forecast, current conditions, temperatures, heating systems, sidewalks and parking lots, commute times/conditions for employees, etc. Our goal as a public school district is to educate children. So closing is not a decision we take lightly. Though school children (and sometimes even teachers) often pray for snow days. . .school administrators do not.
I can assure you, making weather-related decisions are some of the most difficult decisions to make. Sometimes, like last week, people tell us we did the obvious - it was a no brainer. Sometimes, we get to school and conditions get worse and we receive calls questioning our intelligence as we contemplate sending children back home while parents may be gone to work. And sometimes. . .just sometimes, everyone is just fine with our decision because they realize we have the best interests of their children in mind.
I hope today is one of those days.
Still, while we were conferencing one school administrator was out driving the roads. In fact, he had been since about 4:30 a.m. this morning. He reported that there were trees beginning to ice up and puddles with ice forming around the edges, but roadways were suprisingly clearer than expected. As the first signs of sleet began to fall, we started getting word that other districts were considering going to school and just releasing early. This is never really a good option.
As we were conferencing with area superintendents, the temperature began to drop dramatically - like one degree for every minute. In the course of 15 minutes, decisions became a little more clear, with a band of snow - now predicted at only 1-2 inches instead of the 2-4 first predicted - following behind the sleet. The administrator out driving the roads noted that temps dropped seven degrees in an 11-minute period.
One by one, districts made the decision to close. It seemed with temperatures continuing to drop and the wind howling outside, we didn't stand much of a chance of getting a full day in before dealing with difficult roadways and trying to get everyone home safely.
At the time the call was made, it seemed the right thing to do, though all agreed this one was close and could have gone either way. Hours from now when you read this column, that may sound ridiculous.
Hindsight is always 20-20. We realize that states on the east coast and in the midwest/northern part of the country go to school in conditions far worse. In fact, we often get calls from individuals who question our decisions once they have gotten up to drive to work and things "seem fine."
However, this is Texas. And the weather changes dramatically in short periods of time. Our decisions are being made for thousands of school children and employees hours before commuters start their morning trek to work. We have to consider the forecast, current conditions, temperatures, heating systems, sidewalks and parking lots, commute times/conditions for employees, etc. Our goal as a public school district is to educate children. So closing is not a decision we take lightly. Though school children (and sometimes even teachers) often pray for snow days. . .school administrators do not.
I can assure you, making weather-related decisions are some of the most difficult decisions to make. Sometimes, like last week, people tell us we did the obvious - it was a no brainer. Sometimes, we get to school and conditions get worse and we receive calls questioning our intelligence as we contemplate sending children back home while parents may be gone to work. And sometimes. . .just sometimes, everyone is just fine with our decision because they realize we have the best interests of their children in mind.
I hope today is one of those days.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Carroll Closes For Unprecedented Fourth Consecutive Day
Well, it's weather. . .and it's Texas. So of course it's unpredictable.
Carroll ISD just officially canceled school for the fourth consecutive day due to wintry weather conditions. Dragon parents are jokingly looking forward to my voice on their telephone each day. . .or not. Seems some are starting to get a little cabin fever following Monday evening's ice storm that crippled most of the North Texas area and kept school children everywhere indoors for nearly a week.
What are families to do? No practices, no games, no meetings, no events? Well, needless to say that the Super Ice Storm of 2011 is just as surprising to everyone as last year's unprecedented foot of snow that shut down schools temporarily and sent Texas children outdoors to do something they rarely get to do - build REAL snowmen and go sledding!
With more snow predicted tonight, school officials didn't have much choice but to call off classes Friday. Parking lots and sidewalks continue to be iced over, with some roadways not looking much better. Temperatures have remained below freezing and now are not expected to improve until Saturday afternoon. At least one weather forecast predicts snow a couple of days next week, too. But let's hope for the best.
Carroll ISD agreed to work with Atmos Energy to voluntarily participate in "powering down" the district's natural gas usage to heat facilities. All CISD buildings are currently operating in "unoccupied" mode, which will help conserve energy for peak residential usage. Scheduled rolling blackouts have become common terminology across a great portion of the state unaccustomed to energy deficiencies.
Still, most school children are probably relieved to have a little time at home and school staff can catch up on emails, grading and special projects.
The celebrating may be short-lived because Dragons will now attend school on the two planned bad weather days - Monday, April 11 and Friday, April 22. Most will likely forget these few days of fun in February when the sun is shining and they are sitting in class this April.
School officials say the district will likely submit a weather-related waiver to the Texas Commissioner of Education, asking him to waive the other two instructional days. This process to seek a waiver is first considered by the District Advisory Committee and then the Board of Trustees. CISD Trustees are expected to vote on the waiver at their February 21 meeting.
In the meantime, stay warm and enjoy a long, long weekend. We'll see you Monday, Dragons!
Carroll ISD just officially canceled school for the fourth consecutive day due to wintry weather conditions. Dragon parents are jokingly looking forward to my voice on their telephone each day. . .or not. Seems some are starting to get a little cabin fever following Monday evening's ice storm that crippled most of the North Texas area and kept school children everywhere indoors for nearly a week.
What are families to do? No practices, no games, no meetings, no events? Well, needless to say that the Super Ice Storm of 2011 is just as surprising to everyone as last year's unprecedented foot of snow that shut down schools temporarily and sent Texas children outdoors to do something they rarely get to do - build REAL snowmen and go sledding!
With more snow predicted tonight, school officials didn't have much choice but to call off classes Friday. Parking lots and sidewalks continue to be iced over, with some roadways not looking much better. Temperatures have remained below freezing and now are not expected to improve until Saturday afternoon. At least one weather forecast predicts snow a couple of days next week, too. But let's hope for the best.
Carroll ISD agreed to work with Atmos Energy to voluntarily participate in "powering down" the district's natural gas usage to heat facilities. All CISD buildings are currently operating in "unoccupied" mode, which will help conserve energy for peak residential usage. Scheduled rolling blackouts have become common terminology across a great portion of the state unaccustomed to energy deficiencies.
Still, most school children are probably relieved to have a little time at home and school staff can catch up on emails, grading and special projects.
The celebrating may be short-lived because Dragons will now attend school on the two planned bad weather days - Monday, April 11 and Friday, April 22. Most will likely forget these few days of fun in February when the sun is shining and they are sitting in class this April.
School officials say the district will likely submit a weather-related waiver to the Texas Commissioner of Education, asking him to waive the other two instructional days. This process to seek a waiver is first considered by the District Advisory Committee and then the Board of Trustees. CISD Trustees are expected to vote on the waiver at their February 21 meeting.
In the meantime, stay warm and enjoy a long, long weekend. We'll see you Monday, Dragons!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Carroll Continues To Monitor Weather
Although the decision was made early this morning to close Carroll schools for February 1, questions are already coming in about the possibility of a delay or cancellation on Wednesday, February 2. Temperatures are forecast to stay well below the freezing point throughout the day and night, causing most Texans to consider the possibility that current conditions won't improve before Wednesday, morning.
Carroll school officials continue to monitor the wintry weather conditions. Although it may seem like an easy decision, delaying or canceling school for 7,676 students and nearly 1,200 staff members is anything but easy. Although safety is a top priority, educating students is also a top priority.
Official Carroll ISD announcements are made on the district's telephone notification system, Carroll ISD's website, news media stations and MySouthlakeNews.com.
Decisions are typically made as close to 6 a.m. as possible. Local officials monitor weather forecasts, consult with area school superintendents and transportation directors and drive roads as early as 3:30-4 a.m. to test conditions. CISD has a number of staff members who live outside of our district boundaries and drive to Southlake to work. We also rely on food service workers and bus drivers who commute to our area from outlying locations.
Although the condition of major roadways and back streets are monitored, CISD also assesses the presence of ice on sidewalks and parking lots and considers current heating system issues when making final decisions. The forecast and pending temperatures are also factored into the process. Much care is taken to make a decision in the best interest of all involved, but decisions often have to be made several hours in advance of approaching weather.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to communicate important announcements regarding weather related delays and/or closings. Stayed tuned to our usual communication methods for details related to our current weather conditions.
Carroll school officials continue to monitor the wintry weather conditions. Although it may seem like an easy decision, delaying or canceling school for 7,676 students and nearly 1,200 staff members is anything but easy. Although safety is a top priority, educating students is also a top priority.
Official Carroll ISD announcements are made on the district's telephone notification system, Carroll ISD's website, news media stations and MySouthlakeNews.com.
Decisions are typically made as close to 6 a.m. as possible. Local officials monitor weather forecasts, consult with area school superintendents and transportation directors and drive roads as early as 3:30-4 a.m. to test conditions. CISD has a number of staff members who live outside of our district boundaries and drive to Southlake to work. We also rely on food service workers and bus drivers who commute to our area from outlying locations.
Although the condition of major roadways and back streets are monitored, CISD also assesses the presence of ice on sidewalks and parking lots and considers current heating system issues when making final decisions. The forecast and pending temperatures are also factored into the process. Much care is taken to make a decision in the best interest of all involved, but decisions often have to be made several hours in advance of approaching weather.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to communicate important announcements regarding weather related delays and/or closings. Stayed tuned to our usual communication methods for details related to our current weather conditions.
Monday, January 17, 2011
It's Time To Be Heard, Dragons
If there was ever a time to involve yourself in the Legislative process in Texas, it's now Dragons! Carroll ISD is asking all parents, business leaders, educators, taxpayers and students to write letters to our lawmakers asking them to Make Education A Priority! We're asking for no more cuts to public education, equitable and fair funding for all school districts, and for lawmakers to stop sending us mandates that are taxing on our local budgets. We want them to allow our locally-elected School Board members to make the most effective and efficient decisions for the children of this community. After all, our Trustees know the standards and expectations of parents in this community and they have the greatest knowledge of the operating budget and the priorities at the local level.
What started as a simple movement by a School Board member in Aledo ISD has become an active campaign to have our voices heard at the State Capitol. We hope to deliver AT LEAST one letter or postcard representing each student enrolled in our district. That's 7,676 letters or postcards that will be delivered in person in Austin. Our stage will be the 82nd Legislative Session and we will not be there alone. Nearly half of the public school districts in Texas have joined this effort to send a message to the men and women elected to represent us!
There are those who believe these efforts futile. There are those who won't take the time to participate, but we hope most of you will. This message is important. In fact, it's too important for us not to try. We are at a critical stage in public education funding. With a reported $27 billion deficit in Texas, lawmakers are going to be challenged to make cuts. Right now, word from financial experts in the state is that public education can expect anywhere from 5-15% cuts across the board. With more than 60 percent of the districts already operating a deficit budget, this news is devastating. What could it mean locally? Experts say CISD could stand to lose anywhere from $3 million to $9 million on top of our current deficit.
And yet we are doing our part to get our house in order locally. For the past two years, we have been working to reduce the overall operating deficit here at home. We've already cut about $2.1 million - mostly in central office budget reductions and through positions lost to a declining enrollment. The School Board has worked tirelessly to find creative ways to enhance our financial position, so that the next round of cuts won't hurt children in the classroom. The district has reduced its overall utility bills, cut back in spending on supplies, travel and professional development and has taken advantage of the federal government's Build America Bonds, saving local taxpayers millions. Our fund balance is healthy, but only because the leaders of this district have carefully planned, saved and taken advantage of every opportunity available to us to raise revenue and reduce expenses. That healthy fund balance won't last forever, however, and the time to act is now.
There are just a few days left in our letter-writing campaign. It's our hope that every Carroll Dragon will participate. If you are a two-parent household, write two letters and sign two postcards. If you have school-age children, write a letter for each of them and have your older children write their own letter. If you are a classroom teacher, write a letter . . .a custodian or bus driver? Write a letter. We are all in this situation together and together, we have the strongest opportunity to make a difference.
Our website link takes you to a page that offers talking points, budget facts and sample letters. The postcards - printed using private donations - will be available this week in all our Carroll schools. We've set up a special email address to accept your letters electronically - everychildcounts@southlakecarroll.edu - and we pledge to hand deliver every letter and/or postcard we receive.
The rest, Dragons, is up to you. We cannot write your letter for you. The lawmakers we have spoken to say that the real way to enact change in Austin is to hear from their voters, their constituents - the people they are elected to represent. We need you to help us protect public education funding. We aren't even asking for them to do away with Robin Hood or send us more money. This message is about protecting their investment in the future and NOT allowing public education spending to be cut. Our children are too important.
If we've ever needed your attention, your time, your writing skills - it's now! I've been a part of this school district for 14 years. What I love most about this community is actually the envy of others - our ability to unite and get things done for our children. The resources are here; the message is clear. Will you take a few moments today and participate in the Carroll Dragon letter writing campaign?
Thank you in advance for making a difference. You truly represent The Power of One!
What started as a simple movement by a School Board member in Aledo ISD has become an active campaign to have our voices heard at the State Capitol. We hope to deliver AT LEAST one letter or postcard representing each student enrolled in our district. That's 7,676 letters or postcards that will be delivered in person in Austin. Our stage will be the 82nd Legislative Session and we will not be there alone. Nearly half of the public school districts in Texas have joined this effort to send a message to the men and women elected to represent us!
There are those who believe these efforts futile. There are those who won't take the time to participate, but we hope most of you will. This message is important. In fact, it's too important for us not to try. We are at a critical stage in public education funding. With a reported $27 billion deficit in Texas, lawmakers are going to be challenged to make cuts. Right now, word from financial experts in the state is that public education can expect anywhere from 5-15% cuts across the board. With more than 60 percent of the districts already operating a deficit budget, this news is devastating. What could it mean locally? Experts say CISD could stand to lose anywhere from $3 million to $9 million on top of our current deficit.
And yet we are doing our part to get our house in order locally. For the past two years, we have been working to reduce the overall operating deficit here at home. We've already cut about $2.1 million - mostly in central office budget reductions and through positions lost to a declining enrollment. The School Board has worked tirelessly to find creative ways to enhance our financial position, so that the next round of cuts won't hurt children in the classroom. The district has reduced its overall utility bills, cut back in spending on supplies, travel and professional development and has taken advantage of the federal government's Build America Bonds, saving local taxpayers millions. Our fund balance is healthy, but only because the leaders of this district have carefully planned, saved and taken advantage of every opportunity available to us to raise revenue and reduce expenses. That healthy fund balance won't last forever, however, and the time to act is now.
There are just a few days left in our letter-writing campaign. It's our hope that every Carroll Dragon will participate. If you are a two-parent household, write two letters and sign two postcards. If you have school-age children, write a letter for each of them and have your older children write their own letter. If you are a classroom teacher, write a letter . . .a custodian or bus driver? Write a letter. We are all in this situation together and together, we have the strongest opportunity to make a difference.
Our website link takes you to a page that offers talking points, budget facts and sample letters. The postcards - printed using private donations - will be available this week in all our Carroll schools. We've set up a special email address to accept your letters electronically - everychildcounts@southlakecarroll.edu - and we pledge to hand deliver every letter and/or postcard we receive.
The rest, Dragons, is up to you. We cannot write your letter for you. The lawmakers we have spoken to say that the real way to enact change in Austin is to hear from their voters, their constituents - the people they are elected to represent. We need you to help us protect public education funding. We aren't even asking for them to do away with Robin Hood or send us more money. This message is about protecting their investment in the future and NOT allowing public education spending to be cut. Our children are too important.
If we've ever needed your attention, your time, your writing skills - it's now! I've been a part of this school district for 14 years. What I love most about this community is actually the envy of others - our ability to unite and get things done for our children. The resources are here; the message is clear. Will you take a few moments today and participate in the Carroll Dragon letter writing campaign?
Thank you in advance for making a difference. You truly represent The Power of One!
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