COLLEGE STATION INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD PUBLIC FORUM

September 8, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

AMC High School Auditorium

 

A.  CALL TO ORDER

President Randall Pitcock called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and declared a quorum was present with seven members present.

 

B.   DECLARATION OF QUORUM

In attendance were President Randall Pitcock, Vice President Valerie Jochen, Secretary Paul Dorsett, and Trustees Carol Barrett, Charlotte Slack, Garland Watson and Jeff Harris.

 

C.  WORKSHOP SESSION

C-1.  RECEIVE PUBLIC INPUT FROM COMMUNITY RELATED TO THE ATTENDANCE ZONE RECOMMENDATION MADE ON AUGUST 30, 2010

President Randall Pitcock welcomed everyone, made a statement to make sure the audience knew that the purpose of the forum was to receive input from the community and the Board Operating Procedures prohibit Trustees from answering, commenting, or getting into a dialogue with speakers.

 

Superintendent Eddie Coulson recognized Deputy Superintendent Clark Ealy who presented a short presentation related to the rezoning process.  The process began back in March 2010 whereby the board held three community forums to receive feedback on potential parameters for rezoning.  The Board processed the feedback and adopted three parameters for the rezoning committee.  The committee met seven times in eight weeks and spent a great deal of time looking at a wide variety of scenarios – 18 elementary, and 12 secondary.  The committee finalized recommendations on 5/24/10.  The recommendations were presented in August 2010, community forums on the recommended zones are being conducted now – September 8, 14, and 16.  The Board will approve new attendance zones in September or October 2010.  The new zones will take effect for Grades K-8 in August 2011, with the opening of Greens Prairie Elementary School.  The zones for high school will take effect August 2012, with the opening of CS High School.

 

The Rezoning Committee’s charge was to: (1) study all the issues concerning rezoning CSISD schools:  2010 Demographic Study, statewide demographic trends, platting and development information from City of College Station, school capacities, and projected enrollment in all geographic areas of the district; consider all the effects the potential changes could have on the district, neighborhoods, families and students; (2) recommend to the Board: new attendance zones for 8 elementary schools, 2 intermediate, middle and high schools and grandfathering recommendation for Kinder-8th Grade.

 

The rezoning parameters given to the committee were:  (1) Zone schools for a comparable composition of students – elementary zones are not comparable enough, need to improve the disparity in percent low-SES and define comparable for secondary zones – the committee wrestled with this; (2) Establish feeder patterns for students in 5th – 12th grade (intermediate, middle and high school); (3) Zone schools for growth.  Things that were not parameters are:  feeder patterns from elementary to intermediate schools, making as few changes as possible, zoning students to schools closest to their home/neighborhood – this has not been a parameter in any recent rezoning effort and CSISD has a history of zoning students to schools farther away to achieve comparability.

 

Recommended changes in elementary zones are: 

Southwood Valley Elementary – losing Southgate Village Apartments and gaining Foxfire/Wood Creek, Carter Lake, and Southwood Forest

 

Pebble Creek Elementary – losing Foxfire/Wood Creek and Carter Lake and gaining apartments and townhomes around Windsor Pointe

 

South Knoll Elementary – losing area around Windsor Pointe and Rock Prairie West/Timbercrest and gaining Emerald Forest, North Forest Sandstone

 

College Hills Elementary – losing Emerald Forest, North Forest and Sandstone and gaining north of SW Parkway between Texas Avenue and SH 6\

 

Forest Ridge Elementary – losing Sweetwater and Sweetwater Forest, Woodlake, Castle Rock, (Castle Gate – Part II) and gaining none

 

Rock Prairie Elementary – losing everything west of Wellborn Road and Southwood Forest and gaining a small portion of Edelweiss Gartens

 

Creek View Elementary – losing a small portion of Edelweiss Gartens, Sonoma and Reatta Meadows and everything to the southern border of the district and gaining Southgate Village Apartment

 

Greens Prairie Elementary – Gaining all land west of Wellborn Road from Rock Prairie West, Robin/Merlin and Oakridge and Rolling Ridge mobile home communities to the southern border of the district, Sonoma/Reatta Meadows/Castle Rock, Castle Gate – Part II, Sweetwater/Sweetwater Forest, Woodlake

 

The Secondary Recommendation summary shows that the major decision came down to where should Southgate and State Streets students go:

·         Walk to Oakwood, AMCMS and AMCHS or

·         Ride the bus to Cypress Grove, CSMS and CSHS

·         They cannot do what they do now (bus grades 5-8 and walk to Consol)

The committee decided that it was more important for Southgate Village and State Street students to have transportation grades 5-12, especially 5-8.  Also, the recommendation tries to keep the Oakwood/Cypress Grove percentages as close as possible.

 

Grandfathering covers grades K-8.  Any High School movement is covered by the transfer guidelines.  Who would be eligible to elect to grandfather if their zones changes?

·         Those in the last year at a campus when rezoning takes effect

o   4th, 6th and 8th graders in 2011

·         A certain group of 3rd graders who would have to go to three elementary schools if they lived in the same place

o   This would be a two year grandfathering for these kids, allowing them to finish at their second elementary school

·         Siblings are not eligible

 

COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ADDRESSED THE BOARD

 

1.     Leann Cook addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

2.    Catherine Gibson addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

3.    Brian Bachmann passed on addressing the board

4.    Cody Catelena addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

5.    Cheryl Wenck addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

6.     Beth Miles addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

7.    DeEsta Garrett addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

8.    Amy Tremblay addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

9.     Timothy Jacobs addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

10.  Amy Heye addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

11.  Robert Wilson addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

12.  Kendra Graf addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

13.  Micah Flippen addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

14.  Ginger Howard addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

15.  Brad Corrier addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

16.  Erin Fry addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

17.  Paul Leventis addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

18.  Kyle Barrington addressed the board opposing the rezoning recommendation

 

D.  ADJOURNMENT

Without objection, President Pitcock adjourned the meeting at 8:16 p.m.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                           

RANDALL PITCOCK                                              PAUL DORSETT

PRESIDENT                                                             SECRETARY