Round Rock ISD Superintendent Jess Chvez announced at the Dec. 4 community update—a forum hosted by the superintendent to discuss various topics, including current and future goals as well as the state of the district—that the board of trustees plans to discuss structuring the Student Health Advisory Council. The SHAC was dissolved after the discovery that its members were not board-appointed.

"The board is going to have a discussion item this coming meeting with regards to the requirements and the organization of the SHAC," he said.

SHAC reviews anything health-related for the district, such as physical exercise, food served in schools or sex education, said JoyLynn Occhiuzzi, the district's executive director of community relations.

In November, board members decided to dissolve the SHAC and pull the sex education agenda item after it was discovered that they were not appointed by the board, which is a requirement, Occhiuzzi said. The SHAC recommended that contraception be added to the sex education curriculum, which was to be discussed at a Nov. 15 board meeting.

Chvez said he will recommend to the board that SHAC be comprised of one chairperson and 15 members. He said it is important to have all areas of the district represented on the council and that at least 10 members be parents.

"To me it's very important that all areas of our district have a voice," he said.

Chvez said SHAC meetings, which were held every Tuesday, were open to the public and that anyone could voice their opinions and vote on recommendations that should be presented to the board. Information on parents who signed up to volunteer for the SHAC committee before and after its dissolution is now being compiled, Occhiuzzi said.

In addition to the SHAC, Chvez addressed some of the upcoming issues that will be discussed in Texas Legislative session, such as school finance and program and grant cuts. He said he would like to offer more programs for students who may be struggling with classes and will push for the Legislature to restore funding as well as eliminate some testing. The superintendent said he is supportive of accountability in testing, but he feels that the ACT, SAT and the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness is too much.

Future enrollment and the planning for new schools were also discussed at the community update. As the district begins to grow, there is a need for new schools to avoid overcrowding, he said. Chvez said this year, the district added about 200 students. New schools that are being discussed for the future include a middle school to relieve overcrowding in the Walsh and the Cedar Valley middle schools, and an elementary school to reduce enrollment at the Wells Branch and Bluebonnet elementary schools. Chvez said it will take at least a year to get bonds approved, to conduct a bond study and call an election. It will take another two years or more to build a school.