Spring ISD: bond projects moving forward on schedule despite area flooding The Spring ISD board of trustees presented a community service award to Fallbrook Church Pastor Michael Pender on Tuesday night.[/caption] Spring ISD officials optimistically predicted at Tuesday night's board of trustees meeting that projects funded by last year's $330 million bond referendum will continue to progress on schedule. “The very good news about the bond update is we are still on target despite the events of the past few weeks,” SISD Chief Operations Officer Mark Miranda said. “We still feel we are on target with all of the timelines and goals we had set previously.” The design process has begun for the district's major bond projects and construction on several items—including a new stadium—could begin in the spring, Miranda said. The board authorized the SISD Superintendent Rodney Watson to approve the recommended construction companies for several bond projects:
  • a Spring High School ninth-grade center
  • a districtwide stadium, two new middle schools
  • remodeling the existing Roberson Middle School building into a ninth-grade center
  • renovating a new police headquarters building.
Here are a few other items discussed at the Tuesday night board meeting:
  1. SISD Superintendent Rodney Watson said district enrollment is up since the beginning of the school year, and the number of homeless students in the district has increased from 155 last year to 261 this year since Hurricane Harvey swept through the area. “I am suspecting those numbers will increase as we go through the next several weeks as people get situated,” Watson said.
  2. SISD Education Foundation has donated $20,000 to SISD efforts to help students and staff who were affected by flooding related to Hurricane Harvey.
  3. Yvette Casas, assistant principal at Reynolds Elementary School, was named the new principal of Burchett Elementary School.
  4. The board recognized Fallbrook Church Pastor Michael Pender with an ABCD award, which cites efforts above and beyond the call of duty from an individual or organization in the community. It also recognized Cooper and Northgate Crossing elementary schools with Points of Pride awards for high achievement on State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness tests.
  5. The board discussed a plan that would offer incentives for teachers that meet certain performance goals. If approved, the plan would offer monetary stipends for teachers that meet criteria such as high attendance rates.
The SISD board of trustees meets at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month at 16717 Ella Blvd., Houston.