Cedar Hill ISD superintendent fields questions from the public

by Brian Allen of Best Southwest Citizen

CEDAR HILL — The queries from parents at Thursday’s town Cedar Hill ISD town hall meeting ranged from swine flu concerns to potential building improvements.

Gail Wade, mother of a Cedar Hill High School baseball player, wanted to know the status of plans for a sports complex.

“Whatever we need to do as parents to see that bond be put out there, and we don’t know that it will pass, we would like to do,” she said.

CHISD Superintendent Horace Williams said a bond would be needed, and it would need parent support to spread the word in the community.

“Looking at a bond, it’s not just about the athletic facility,” Williams said. “It’s going to be about schools, building new schools, renovating, and all these components,” Williams said. “We want to put together a good package, so that we vote one time and these things are in place.”

Williams said one of his friends is the superintendent for Lufkin schools, and every time they talk the CHISD head joking asks to “borrow” the indoor sports complex.

“But it’s something that the community wanted to have happen,” Williams said.

A follow-up question asked when a bond might come forth. Williams said by starting the strategic plan in October, there was a possibility a bond package could come by November 2010. But he admitted that would be a quicker turnaround than he expects.

The superintendent said he’s encouraged by increasing enrollment, which includes students that had left for other school districts or private schools.

“We know that we have students coming to us from other districts,” he said. “We’re tracking each one of the students that come into the district. Some were students whose parents had taken them out of the district; they lived in Cedar Hill. They took them to Duncanville, they took them to DeSoto, they took them to Midlothian, they took them to Dallas. Because they felt they were better schools. Now, guess what? They’re bringing their kids back.”

One parent expressed concerns about football players passing around water bottles and the potential health risks. CHISD school board member Dr. Mike Marshall said the district could do a better job. But he noted some of the issues will be hard to work on. As an example, Marshall said a football player would likely not get the chance to wash his hands in between touching the ball and adjusting his mouthpiece.

Several parents expressed concerns about school starting and ending times. Williams said because the district contracts with Dallas County for buses, it’s hard to make any changes there.

In closing, the audience saw a presentation about the upcoming strategic plan and received the chance to sign up for the committee that will help put it together.