posted Aug 22, 2010 5:57 PM by Kaweem Koshan
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updated Aug 22, 2010 5:58 PM
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Dear Key Communicator: CFISD has entered into a partnership with Ambit Energy in order to generate additional revenue for the district. Ambit Energy has designed a program where community organizations, such as churches, PTO's and school districts, can raise funds through rebates based on residential customer electricity usage. Ambit is a state-approved energy provider that offers competitive rates. We are asking that you evaluate and consider Ambit Energy as your electricity provider when your current electricity contract or agreement ends. And, should you decide that this company is the right electric company for you, sign up on their Cy-Fair ISD customer webpage. If you choose Ambit as your provider, the district will receive a monthly rebate based on your electricity usage at no additional cost to you.The typical monthly rebate to the district based on minimum usage by a customer is four dollars ($4). This amount may seem insignificant; however, this fundraiser has the potential of generating critical funds for our district, which includes thousands of residential customers. We encourage patrons to be educated consumers and evaluate whether Ambit Energy should be their electricity provider. We appreciate your consideration of this opportunity to support Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District. Sincerely, David Anthony Dr. David Anthony, superintendent
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD |
posted Aug 22, 2010 5:57 PM by Kaweem Koshan
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updated Aug 22, 2010 5:57 PM
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Dear Key Communicators: The November elections will include three positions on the ballot for the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District Board of Trustees. Candidates can file for a place on the ballot between July 26, 2010 and August 24, 2010 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Monday through Friday) at the Instructional Support Center, 10300 Jones Road, Houston, Texas. Voting is a privilege, and the outcome of any election affects the entire community. The CFISD Board of Trustees makes governance decisions and policies that significantly affect students, staff and district operations as well as parents, patrons and businesses. Profiles for each candidate will be included in the district newspaper, INSIDE Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Trustee Election edition, available in September. This issue will be posted online at www.cfisd.net and will be distributed to key communicators. Our Board will directly influence the future of more than 106,000 students projected to enroll this school year. Please make an educated choice when you cast your ballot in the November election. Every vote really does count. Sincerely, David Anthony, Ed.D. Dr. David Anthony, superintendent
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD |
posted Aug 22, 2010 5:52 PM by Kaweem Koshan
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updated Aug 22, 2010 5:52 PM
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Cypress-Fairbanks ISD is providing new ways for the community to stay “In the Loop and In the Know” through the social media outlets Facebook and Twitter. Facebook users can “become a fan” of Cypress-Fairbanks ISD on Facebook to browse important news, updates and photos from the district.
Twitter users can subscribe to the Cy-Fair ISD feed CyFairISD to receive information through their web browsers or on their mobile devices through a third-party Twitter application. While other unofficial Twitter accounts may contain the CFISD name or logo, the official CyFairISD account can be distinguished by the “In the Loop and In the Know” graphic.
By diversifying its communication outlets, the district plans to reach a larger group of stakeholders who receive their news in a variety of ways. Direct links to both sites are available on the district homepage at www.cfisd.net. |
posted May 10, 2010 9:44 PM by Kaweem Koshan
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updated May 10, 2010 9:44 PM
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Dear Key Communicators:
There are no unimportant elections! Voting is a privilege and the outcome of any election should reflect the opinion of the broader community. Unfortunately, election results may not accomplish this goal unless voters exercise their right to make a selection. I would like to encourage you to take a few minutes to review the issues and the candidates in two very important local elections. Make an educated choice and cast your vote on Saturday, May 8 to select trustees for Lone Star College and board members for the Emergency Service District.
Please review election information ( http://www.lonestar.edu/board-election.htm )and voting locations ( http://www.lonestar.edu/14347.htm ) for Lone Star College and voting information for the Emergency Service District ( http://www.cyfairvfd.com/ )so that your voice is heard.
Sincerely,
Dr. David Anthony, superintendent
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD |
posted Mar 29, 2010 11:01 PM by Kaweem Koshan
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updated Mar 29, 2010 11:01 PM
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Dear Key Communicator:
One of the recommendations for reducing budget costs was a four-tiered transportation system that would require a number of campuses to begin and end the school day at 9:10 a.m. and 4:10 p.m. That change was projected to save almost $1 million.
As I indicated in several earlier communications, we have run several models for this change and we have received input from students, staff, parents, community members, and extracurricular leaders in our district.
Based on all of the input that we have received, we will not implement this change for the 2010-11 school year. There are several legitimate concerns that must be given additional thought and planning before the change is made. We do plan, barring a significant positive change in our revenues, to implement the four-tiered transportation system and later start/end times for the 2011-12 school year. During the next year, we will work to determine the configuration of the start/end times that has the least amount of impact on our community. However, there is not a problem-free scenario.
I appreciate the input that dealt with legitimate concerns and I regret that we have to consider such changes. However, unless our district experiences an "influx" of revenues, we will continue to implement the recommendations included in the efficiency reports that are posted on our website.
Sincerely,
David Anthony Dr. David Anthony, superintendent
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD |
posted Mar 25, 2010 7:58 PM by Kaweem Koshan
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updated Mar 25, 2010 7:59 PM
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Dear Key Communicator: On Thursday, March 4, I presented the 2010-2011 Budget to the Board. I encourage you to review the PowerPoint or watch thepresentation to the Board --both are posted on the district website. As you are aware, we would like to adopt a budget and salary schedule in April. Next year's budget and the public hearing will be agenda items on the April 8, 2010 Board meeting. We have reduced the budget over the past three years by a total of $56 million and we reduced the proposed budget for 2010-2011 by $10 million in order to present a balanced budget to the Board. Our financial challenges will continue for at least the next three years, if not five. Next year's budget was developed setting the stage to maintain the quality education our students deserve. I believe this budget achieves the ideal balance between cost and value of the educational opportunities that we must afford our students with realistic consideration of the current financial climate. Sincerely, Dr. David Anthony, superintendent
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD |
posted Mar 14, 2010 3:48 PM by Kaweem Koshan
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updated Mar 14, 2010 3:48 PM
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Dear Key Communicator: Based on several emails that the Board members and I have received, I want to provide you with the facts regarding the implementation of a four-tier transportation service model and the impact it would have on the beginning and ending times for our campuses. Each year, we review start/end times of our campuses and make changes to meet transportation requirements. This year, WCL Enterprises conducted an efficiency audit in CFISD and one of the recommendations for saving approximately $1 million was to implement a four-tier transportation program instead of the current three-tier system. In order to implement a four-tier program, some campuses would begin the school day at 9:10 a.m. and end at 4:10 p.m. We have been discussing this issue with our principals and collecting input regarding all of the possible scenarios for populating the four tiers. For discussion purposes, a late arrival/late dismissal scenario was created for each campus level -- elementary, middle school and high school. I believe the reason rumors are rampant regarding high school starting at 9:10 a.m. is due to the research that has been prevalent for years indicating that high school students perform better academically if they start school later than 8:00 a.m. We have not made a final decision regarding a proposed schedule for the implementation of the four-tier program. We do hope to have that proposal ready in early April. Once that is accomplished, another Key Communicator letter will be sent to all of our stakeholders for whom we have an email address. If you are fortunate enough to have a spring break, I hope that this information will allow you to relax and enjoy a few days without worrying about this issue. Sincerely, David Anthony Dr. David Anthony, superintendent
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD |
posted Mar 10, 2010 8:09 PM by Kaweem Koshan
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updated Mar 10, 2010 8:10 PM
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Dear Key Communicator: April 1, 2010 is Census Day. An accurate census of our area will benefit our school district and community by influencing the distribution of $300 billion in federal funds earmarked for states and local communities. In order to accomplish this, it is important that everyone participates. Census information is confidential by law and no other agency has access to the personal data. I have included information for you to share with other community members. · The U.S. census is taken every 10 years. · Census questionnaires will be mailed or delivered to households in March. · The questionnaire is short and asks only a few simple questions-name, relationship, gender, age and date of birth, race and whether the respondent owns or rents his or her home. · Questionnaires are returned by mail. · Census takers will visit households between April and July if the questionnaires have not been returned by April 1. How is census information used? · To distribute Title 1 and special education funding, which impacts school district budgets · To distribute funds for college tuition grant and loan programs · To build new roads and plan for public transportation · To redistrict state legislatures, county and city councils and voting districts · To determine areas eligible for housing assistance · To plan for hospitals, nursing homes and clinics · To direct funds for people in poverty · To develop assistance programs for low-income families Taking the time to complete the census form supports our school district and the Cy-Fair community. Sincerely, David Anthony, Ed.D. Dr. David Anthony, superintendent
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD |
posted Dec 3, 2009 3:15 PM by Kaweem Koshan
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updated Dec 3, 2009 3:16 PM
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Dear Key Communicator: One of our employees forwarded the following erroneous email message to me that she received today . "Our Board of Trustees is actually considering eliminating Librarians from schools!!!! They would leave the operation of the libraries to parent volunteers! The Librarians are incredibly vital to our students. They do so much to encourage and help kids improve their reading, develop a desire to read, learn how to research information, and so much more. Please, please, please...email the board at the address below and tell them how much we oppose this! They are voting on it on Monday, so please forward this information to everyone you know that lives in the District! I want to make sure that you understand that the message is blatant misinformation, which could not have been constructed and distributed for any good intent or purpose. First, there is not a board meeting on Monday night; second, the Trustees are not considering a proposal that would eliminate librarians; and third, the administration will not formalize any budget reduction proposal to the Board that includes recommendations for consideration until the Leadership Cy-Fair committee has completed its work and we have received the reports from the two efficiency audits that are being conducted. I regret that an individual would propagate such information throughout our district and community. This is a prime example of inappropriate behavior fueled by little or no factual evidence. David Anthony Dr. David Anthony, superintendent
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD |
posted Sep 27, 2009 11:55 AM by Kaweem Koshan
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updated Sep 27, 2009 11:55 AM
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 September 25, 2009 Dear Key Communicators: Recently, we placed a budget process presentation and stakeholder survey on the district website. The purpose of this presentation was to make our stakeholders aware of the process we are implementing to develop the budget for the 2010-2011 school year. Although we have just started the 2009 - 2010 year, we need to develop the budget for next school year by February or March of 2010 in order to accomplish our goal. The new funding system for public education, HB 3646 inadequately meets the financial needs of CFISD. Since we did not know the financial impact of HB 3646 until after it was passed by the legislature on June 1st 2009, we were forced to identify $14 million in reductions in our budget in a very short time period -between June 2nd and June 25th. Our fiscal year, unlike some other districts in the state of Texas begins on July 1st and ends on June 30th. Therefore, by law, we had to have a budget adopted for this school year prior to July 1, 2009. The 2010-2011 school year is the second year of the legislature's biennium and so the funding system will stay the same. We know what our revenues will be for the next year, because the formula provides a designated amount per WADA (weighted average daily attendance). The only real variable is the number of students that will enroll in our district. However, we have consistently projected student growth in enrollment accurately. This being said, we are confident that our state and local revenue estimates are on target for next year. The only other aspect in the development of the budget is determining what expenditures are required or needed. This brings us to the process that we have implemented to develop the 2010-2011 budget. We are asking stakeholder to watch the video presentation that is posted on our district website and participate in a survey that is also posted online. We must reduce the budget by $10 million and to do so, we face a daunting task of identifying programs and services to eliminate. This will be a challenge because we will do this on the heels of two consecutive years with budget reductions that total $41 million. As a stakeholder in our schools, you have an important perspective. This is why we want your input. Please go to the website at www.cfisd.net to submit your input. Sincerely, David Anthony, Ed.D. Dr. David Anthony, superintendent
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD |
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