Education Updates

A question for board President Melanie Bush

What is the biggest issue facing Conroe ISD with the upcoming legislative session?

The biggest challenge for CISD is continuing our fiscal responsibility while meeting the needs of our high growth. A legislative session is interesting because of the unknowns ... regarding funding and requirements.

Big decisions made in 2016

• District of Innovation CISD officially became a District of Innovation in December when the board of trustees unanimously voted to adopt a plan that included only one item—district-level control of the school calendar. This allows the district to begin and end the school year earlier, adjust winter break dates and add in additional days off in the spring and fall as the board sees fit.
• Teacher pay increases In June, the board of trustees voted in favor of increasing starting teacher salaries to $51,500 for the 2016-17 school year, up from $50,000 the year before.
• New school names After requesting public feedback on new school names in July, the board decided to name the district’s new elementary school after Lucille J. Bradley, a longtime CISD educator who died in 2014 at age 100. They also voted to name the new high school Grand Oaks High School, after the Grand Parkway and the Imperial Oaks subdivision.

Top issues for 2017

• Attendance rezoning As construction on Bradley Elementary School and Grand Oaks High School progresses, the board of trustees has held several forums welcoming feedback on rezoning options, which were formulated by an appointed Attendance Boundary Committee consisting of parents, teachers and administrators. The goal is to select options to be presented to the board in mid-January.
• School calendar Three calendar drafts are available on CISD’s website, and all are open to online public feedback. The appointed committee is aiming to recommend the best option to the board at February’s meeting. Two of the three options suggest making Wednesday, Aug. 16 the first day of school for students, instead of the state mandated fourth Monday in August.
• Continued construction Bradley Elementary School is on track to be complete in time for the 2017-18 school year, and Grand Oaks High School is slated to open in time for the 2018-19 school year. Additionally, construction is continuing on the robotics building at College Park High School. It is on schedule to be furnished over spring break.