HEATH – Rockwall ISD School Board Member Craig Zurek  announced today that he will not seek re-election for the Board of Trustees in the 2012 election.

Zurek has served on the Rockwall School Board since 2004.  He served as President of The Board from 2008 – 2010,  Vice President from 2006 – 2008 and again from 2010 to 2011. He also served as Chairman of the Financial and Marketing Sub-Committees.

He was a member of The Heath City Council from 1996-2000.

Following is a statement which Zurek issued regarding his decision:

“Serving the Rockwall ISD children, families and community as a Trustee of the School Board has been an incredible and fulfilling experience and a singular honor.  My decision to not run for re-election comes with mixed emotions and only after much personal debate, discussion with my wife, Julie, and considerable prayer.  Throughout my service I have been driven to do all that I could to help deliver the best possible education to our children.  I will miss serving on the Board. That said, even after my term expires, I will continue to stay involved as an active volunteer for the District.”

“I am grateful for the partnership and friendship of all of the fine people with whom I have served as a part of our Team-of-Eight and I am especially grateful for the support that I have received over the past eight years from my family and friends.”

“My three children all attended Rockwall Schools for thirteen years and, as testimony to the fine preparation they received, by the end of this summer all will be graduates of the University of Texas.  Now it is time for me to move on to other challenges and to let new ideas and new energy take over in our District.”

“I intend to endorse Brian Young, a Rockwall resident and parent of four young daughters, whose previous work with and commitment to our youth have convinced me that he will make a great School Board Trustee.”

“Thank you, from the bottom of my heart to all who made this past 8 years of service on the RISD School Board a truly fulfilling experience.”

Brad Lamberth, also a  past Board President and fellow Trustee, had this to say about Craig:

“Craig is an example of what is right in community service and leadership.  His dedication to the District and the young people of this community is exemplary.   Craig served without agenda, other than to make the RISD the best it can be.   His incredible talents and sacrificial giving will be missed.  Please join me in expressing our sincere appreciation for Craig’s unyielding and loyal service.”

“And, please consider our mutual support for and endorsement of Brian Young -someone worthy of the office of Trustee and who can ably fill the large vacancy left by Craig.”

By J.J. Smith, Publisher

ROCKWALL — Anticipating a $15.7 million state funding cut over the next two years, the Rockwall ISD Board of Trustees passed a $101,171,531 general fund budget Thursday night, 5-0, at its board meeting and public hearing.

Two board members were unable to attend.

There were no comments from the public at the sparsely-attended, 30-minute meeting held at the RISD Administration building.

Chief Financial Officer Mike Singleton presented a budget that included $101,171,531 in the general fund, $5,098,611 in the Child Nutrition Fund and $22,675,346 in the Debt Service Fund.

He said in order to meet this budget, the district will need to access an estimated $5,570,032 from the District’s fund balance.

Singleton also noted that the proposed tax rate continues at $1.47 per $100 of valuation. This is the fifth consecutive year that the district has maintained the same tax rate.  It will officially be approved at either the August or September board meeting.

RISD Communications Director Sheri Fowler explained the fund balance is similar to a District savings account.

“The fund balance is a sort of a savings account.  In order to meet the guidelines for operating at the highest level of financial efficiency, it is recommended that school districts have approximately three months of operating costs in their fund balance.  This is very important for our bond ratings, too.”

“The three-month rule means that the district would be able to pay operating costs even if there were an interruption in funding sources,” she continued.  “Also, the district does not receive tax revenue until after the end of a calendar year.  The fund balance allows us to ‘borrow from ourselves’ to pay payroll and other operating expenses until we receive this revenue.  Many school districts who do not have healthy fund balances and actually have to borrow from banks in order to cover this time period.”

“The budget passed on Thursday evening did include a use of some of our fund balance.  However, we do have money available that is over and above the 3-month mark so the board felt this was a good use of ‘savings’ so to speak.  (This is not a precedent–we’ve done this before.)”

“Obviously, we have to continue to find additional reductions and sources of revenue enhancement because we can’t do this every year and still maintain a healthy fund balance, but in an effort to keep programs and staff, this use of fund balance was a good option for this coming fiscal year.”

Rockwall ISD expects to lose $6.4 million during the 2011-12 fiscal year and $9.3 million during the 2012-13 fiscal year.

As a result, a hiring freeze is in effect, staffing levels have been reduced by $3.2 million at the campus and administrative levels and no salary increases will be proposed for RISD employees during the coming school year.

One of the most significant decisions made was to outsource the custodial services and transportation departments. New contracts with private companies begin July 1, 2011.

Singleton also warned the Board that for 2013-14, an $8.5 million annual deficit still must be resolved.

By J.J. Smith, Publisher

AUSTIN – Texas House-Senate lawmaker budget negotiators voted 9-1 yesterday for a two-year state budget that would cut Rockwall and Royse City ISD state funding, as well as overall Texas school funding, by 8 percent.

Cuts are less than were feared as a result of last minute accounting maneuvers. Rockwall ISD administrators had feared cuts as high as 9 to15 percent, or 15-23 percent of its overall budget.

The full House and Senate are now expected to vote on the $172.3 billion budget Saturday, which does not raise taxes, nor dip into the State’s rainy day fund to help close the coming fiscal year’s multi-billion dollar shortfall.

It shorts public schools to what they’re entitled to under current law by $4 billion.

If passed as expected by both houses, and signed by Gov. Rick Perry, the budget would be $20 billion less than the current budget.

According to a chart prepared by The Texas Tribune, Rockwall ISD’s budget would be cut by approximately $8,580,516, from its current $103,111,782 to $93,973,809.

Royse City ISD’s budget would be cut by approximately $2,976,728, from $37,209,095 to $34,232,367.

The budget compromise will rely on federal funds for one-third of state revenue, far less than the 39 percent federal share of the budget approved two years ago.

By J.J. Smith, Publisher

ROCKWALL – The Rockwall ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously, 7-0, to approve the outsourcing of transportation and custodial services last night at their monthly meeting at the RISD Administration building, in hopes of saving millions of dollars over the next five years.

Affected by the decisions are the jobs of about 125 transportation and 115 custodial services department employees.

Service Solutions (SSC) will now be awarded the custodial services contract, beginning July 1, which RISD Executive Director of Facilities, Planning & Construction Greg Carver stated will save RISD $650,000 next year. He explained that the initial contract is for one year, with four additional years to be negotiated annually.

Durham School Services will be awarded the transportation contract, also beginning July 1, which RISD Chief Financial Officer Mike Singleton said should save the school district $500,000 annually and over $2.5 million over five years.

Just how the outsourcing will save the school district millions of dollars has not yet been revealed – publicly, at least. TheRockwallNews.com has asked RISD to provide those details.

After limited discussion and before voting, board members asked Singleton and Carver for one last assurance that all transportation and custodial services department employees will be rehired. Both assured the board they will be.

Board member Chris Cuny moved the Board accept Carver’s custodial services recommendation and Craig Zurek seconded the motion.

“If we’re going to save this much money, then I move we go ahead and accept the recommendation,” said Cuny (or something very similar – the sound system is not the best).

Before voting for transportation outsourcing, Board members asked for an assurance that students who live within two miles of schools will be bused to schools. Singleton said they would.

After attending the meeting, several transportation department employees expressed skepticism about whether they will actually be rehired by Durham.

They said morale is low among department employees because they are worried that their jobs are now lost. They said they were deeply disappointed with board members for their limited number of questions asked of Singleton and Carver.

“They just threw us under the bus,” said one employee.

“They just rubber-stamped it,” said another.

“We recycle trash but throw away people,” said another.

The employees stated they can only hope now that Singleton and Carver will keep their promises and ensure they are rehired by SSC and Durham.

By J.J. Smith, Publisher

ROCKWALL – The outsourcing of Rockwall ISD’s transportation and custodial services in order to save millions of dollars will be determined by the RISD Board of Trustees at their regular monthly meeting tonight at 5 pm at the school district’s Administration Building, 1050 Williams St.

The public is invited to attend and make comments.

At the Board’s May 9 work session, RISD Chief Financial Officer Mike Singleton recommended the Trstees approve a five-year contract for transportation with Durham School Services in order to save $500,000 annually and $2.5 million over five years.

Greg Carver, executive director of facilities, planning and construction for the school district, recommended to board members May 9 that they outsource custodial services to Service Solutions (SSC) in order to save $650,000 annually.

If the Board approves the contracts, they will both begin July 1, 2011.

Under contract terms, RISD will still own the school buses and purchase the fuel. The buses will still read “Rockwall ISD” on their sides. Maintenance will be performed by Durham, which will also manage daily operations and work together with the school district to approve a local manager.

Durham serves 350 school districts in 30 states, including 30 school districts in Texas, including Crowley, Joshua, Keller, Lewisville, McKinney, Northwest and Weatherford.

SSC will provide management, vehicles for management, all custodial labor at existing wages, background checks, supplies and equipment, and no modifications unless agreed by RISD. The contract will be negotiated annually and call for a one-year agreement with four automatic yearly renewals.

SSC serves more than 60 school districts across the U.S, including 19 in Texas, including Denton, Fairfield, Montgomery, Needville, Paris and Wharton.

According to Durham, current employees will receive first consideration for available positions. SSC says all current custodial staff will be offered employment at the current hourly wage.

At the May 9 Board work session, Singleton explained how he decided upon Durham, but did not share the details about how the savings will be generated.

He said he began studying the outsourcing idea 18 months ago with the intent to improve operating efficiencies and improve the quality RISD’s transportation services. After visiting with several transportation providers to research the benefits, he issued a request for proposals and a committee then interviewed prospective bus companies.

He then narrowed his search to two prospects, based upon pricing, employee training, service culture, available resources and references, and decided to recommend Durham.

Besides saving money, Singleton told the Board that he wanted to improve the quality of student transportation and raise the level of service.

“We have very good people down there doing some very good work,” he said. “I feel a certain amount of loyalty to them, a lot of loyalty to them because they’re good employees and so, I went into this with some trepidation, but going into it looking, trying to find ways that we could improve things.”

“If we were going to do something concerning outsourcing, I wanted to be sure we improved the quality of student transportation within the district.”

“I think there’s room for improvement as we’ve grown, as the district has had more routes, locations are different, new people in our employment, more kids and it will continue that over the next few years.

“I wanted to make sure that we continue to give good quality service to our students. I wanted to make sure we had good personnel, as good as we have right now and that they made sure that safety is a priority whenever we have a child on that bus, whether it’s going home, on a field trip, athletics, whatever the case may be. I wanted to make sure that that child was safe.”

For info, call RISD Administration at 972-771-0605.

By J.J. Smith, Publisher

ROCKWALL – A political debate between Rockwall’s three mayoral candidates, Glen Farris (left), David Sweet and Sam Buffington (no photo available), will be hosted by The Rockwall News, Tuesday, April 19, from 8-9 pm, at the Rockwall High School cafeteria.

Buffington is a former three-term City Council Member. Farris and Sweet are currently two-term Council members who are vacating their seats to run for Mayor.

The format will allow each candidate to make opening and closing remarks, plus answer three pre-selected questions provided to the candidates ahead of time.  A fourth question will also be asked, requiring an on-the-spot response from each candidate to the same question which they will not be given ahead of time.

Norma Valles, managing partner of Rockwall’s new El Cayote Rojo “Tex-Mex” restaurant in Old Town Rockwall, will sing two patriotic songs to help start the event. She has sung the national anthem at Dallas Mavericks games, numerous other events, plus produced several CDs to raise funds for U.S. troops.

Prior to the mayoral candidate debate, beginning at 7 pm, RISD Board of Trustees candidates Stephanie Adams, incumbent Dr. Stan Lowrance  and Randy Oakes will also debate issues pertinent to the school district.

Election day is Saturday, May 14. Early voting runs from May 2-10.

By J.J. Smith, Publisher

(Rockwall Herald Banner) ROCKWALL – Superintendent Jeff Bailey gave a “dollar squeezing” presentation to the Rockwall Independent School District’s Board of Trustees Monday night, detailing options that could help the school district deal with possible state funding cuts projected to range between $15.1 million and $23.9 million the next school year.

Board members already have taken action to save $1.8 million by reducing the work force. That action could lead to 20 employees losing their jobs and outsourcing for auxiliary services such as transportation and custodial.

During Monday night’s budget work session, Bailey provided details on many other options to cut expenses and generate income. Those options included the possibility of increasing class sizes and charging activity fees for students who participate in athletics, band and orchestra.

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According to RISD Communications Director Sheri Fowler, the 24-hour bug caused over 16 percent of students to miss school Monday, compared to the normal four to five percent.

She said that a lot of the sick students were involved with the athletics program – athletes, cheerleaders, drill team, etc. – and were involved with the Rockwall – Heath football game Friday night.

Dr. Gary Bonacquisti, Medical Director at Rockwall’s Presbyterian Hospital, said about 20 students were treated last weekend at the emergency room because they were so dehyrated from continuous vomiting that they needed iv fluids.

He said it is unusual that a virus would cause so many people to be sick so quickly and that it apparently started at Rockwall High School.

He also warned that the virus may “trickle down” from older to younger students and elementary schools may soon see more sick children.

The Dallas Morning News.Jimmy Williams, former superintendent of the Rockwall and Dallas County school districts, died Thursday. He was 71.

Mr. Williams’ career as coach, teacher, administrator and community leader – first in Bogata, Rivercrest and Commerce schools – included 20 years in the Rockwall district. He was superintendent from 1972 to 1989.

Rockwall Middle School was renamed Williams Middle School in his honor in 1983.

“He put things in place for us to enjoy today, with a good foundation and high expectations,” said Rockwall Superintendent Gene Burton, a friend and golfing buddy. “He made a difference.”

WFAA-TV. ROCKWALL — A North Texas community came together Thursday night to celebrate small acts of kindness.

It was part of a challenge issued by Rachel Scott before she died. Scott was the first person killed in the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado 11 years ago.

Rockwall has embraced Rachel’s challenge. Thousands of people converged on Wilkinson-Sanders Stadium, where they honored the slain teenager through their own acts of compassion.

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