Fort Bend ISD trustees and staff met for its regular meeting Monday and reviewed public feedback regarding its ongoing facilities master plan, receiving a range of comments backing and criticizing several proposed options.
The board of trustees also approved the creation of an early literacy center at Ridgemont Elementary School and the 2018-19 Designated Hazardous Traffic Conditions.
1) Facilities master plan feedback
The school district received over 21,000 survey responses from the community as of 5 p.m. Monday, regarding its facilities master plan, FBISD consultant Scott Leopold said. Responses varied from that of support to that of censure.
Some unpopular options included converting either Marshall or Hightower High School into a dedicated early college high school to replace current academy programs; converting the administration annex into an education facility; closing Meadows Elementary School and permanently relocating students; closing and repurposing Sugar Mill Elementary School for district use; and rezoning several school boundaries to balance enrollment.
“Throughout this survey, any time the word ‘rezoning’ was mentioned, it just seemed to draw negative support,” Leopold said.
Several parents and students also spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting to protest some proposed rezoning options and the closing of Sugar Mill, Lakeview and Meadows elementary schools.
However, survey results indicate nearly 77 percent of 219 responders support the option to demolish and rebuild Meadows Elementary School on its existing site. Additionally, overall results show more support for closing and repurposing Lakeview instead of Sugar Mill.
“Renovating Sugar Mill is less expensive than modernizing Lakeview,” one commenter wrote.
Although the district received some duplicates of the same responses came from identical IP addresses, it does not mean more weight will be given to that particular comment, said Amanda Bubela, director of external communications and media relations.
"It doesn't really impact the data itself because, remember, these aren't ballots," she said. "You're not voting for something."
The steering committee will receive the raw data as well as results filtering out copy-and-pasted responses before making recommendations to the board of trustees in May, Bubela said.
"We're confident they're still going to be able to have meaningful data that they can refer to and help guide their recommendations," she said.
2) Early literacy center and special education program
Trustees approved a pilot early literacy center at Ridgemont Elementary School to begin in fall 2018 for the purpose of addressing low literacy rates within the Willowridge High School feeder pattern.
The center would serve pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade students from Ridgemont. Students from Blue Ridge, Briargate, and Ridgegate elementary schools will also be permitted to attend through an application process as space allows, according to FBISD documents.
Special education students may also apply to the Early Intervention Special Education Academy, a program attached to the early literacy center to be housed at the same site, said Deena Hill, executive director of special education for FBISD. The academy is intended for 3-year-old pre-kindergarten students in its first year of implementation, and any parent in the district can apply for their child to attend.
“Their child must have been evaluated and meet the eligibility of Autism or intellectual disability, so it’s a very specialized academy,” Hill said.
Early literacy students would participate in an inclusive classroom with their peers, Hill said.
“It’s really a three-year program with the idea that once a student stays there and has that significant intervention with those specialized services, when they leave there, they would be prepared to go back to their home school and be fully included in kindergarten or first grade,” she said.
The cost associated with staffing and operating the center is estimated to be approximately $3.8 million, according to FBISD documents. The district is seeking ways to reduce costs and pursuing grant funding through the Texas Education Agency and local foundations.
3) Designated hazardous traffic conditions
The board approved revisions to designated areas of hazardous traffic conditions within a two-mile zone of the new Thornton Middle School, Travis High School and Ridge Point High School.
Students living within two miles of their school do not receive transportation services provided by FBISD unless that area includes hazardous conditions, Bubela said.
“A hazardous traffic condition exists where no walkway is provided and children must walk along or cross a freeway or expressway, an underpass, an overpass or a bridge, an uncontrolled major traffic artery, an industrial or commercial area, or another comparable condition,” according to the Texas Education Code.
All areas within the two-mile radius of Thornton and Travis, with the exception of the Harvest Green subdivision, classify as areas containing hazardous conditions and will receive bus service for the 2018-19 year, according to meeting documents.
Students living within the Harvest Green subdivision and the two-mile radius of Ridge Point will not receive bus services beginning the 2018-19 school year after the installation of sidewalks improved the conditions of those areas.