Joint LISD / Lewisville Council Meeting to Discuss $40 + Million Lewisville High School Replacement (Updated)

I know where LISD can find $56 million that will more than cover the new construction at LHS' main campus. All LISD needs to do is immediately STOP building the third campus for LHS at 3040 and Ace Lane(you know the one -- the proposed new school to house half of LHS 9th graders and half of LHS 10th graders). LISD has claimed for a long time that LHS is overcrowded, so they insist on building a third campus that will put LHS students in campuses located all over town (the only high school in LISD with this configuration). Here's the answer: Scrap the third campus plan and build LHS' new building larger than it is now with a bigger cafeteria. Bond money saved. Operating expenses cut. School unity maintained. Successful 9th grade campus remains unchanged. Affected community happy. Problem solved. (Note: Please, no one say "smaller learning communities are necessary due to LHS demographics" in any response to this post. That won't hold water. LHS is a "recognized" campus, so its current learning communities are performing well.)

Let’s put aside for a moment the discussion regarding if these changes are critical enough to spend this kind of money in this kind of economy with a budget shortfall of $18 million that will likely, according to a PTA meeting I attended a couple of months ago, result in a tax increase.

I can tell you that if my company sold a project based on one estimate and then came back with another estimate that was potentially 4X the original amount, I would lose the work. Especially in this economy, why are government contractors immune to this kind of accountability? I am interested to know if the entire project will be placed out for competitive bid again. Anyone have information about this?

--Patrick Kelly

This is an interesting read: Juneau schools rejected the 9/10 concept. (Even though parents favored it).

•First, in 9/10-11/12 splits, the added transition between 10 and 11 is an issue. Some students simply don’t show up at the new school. In a district attempting to explicitly address the drop out issue and raise graduation rates, this creates a major red flag.
•One of the major goals of the Juneau Public Schools is to create strong relationships for students. This desire was voiced strongly during the community forums. The best practice research is also very clear about the effect of continuous relationships between teachers and students throughout their high school careers. In the 9/10-11/12 schools, not only were the relationships of shorter duration (two vs. four years), but the administrators stated that there seemed to be some question about who “owned” the kids—Whose responsibility was it to search out students who didn’t show up for eleventh grade? Since the “new” school didn’t already have relationships with these students, there was less active one-on-one recruiting and problem solving to make sure all kids made it into the system. The committee felt that a four-year advisory program would help create strong relationships and address the desire that they heard from the community for “personalization,” and these would not be possible in a split.
•School staff reported that the 9/10 schools had a “glorified middle school” feel to them. Without the maturity and mentoring available from older students, they felt there was a void of leadership that resulted in an increase in behavioral issues.
•When students fail to earn required credits during their freshman and sophomore years, there is a greater issue of what to do about these credits and their placement. Do they stay at the 9/10-11/12 school? What about electives? If they go on to the 11/12, how do they earn the missed credits? These were all issues in the split schools.
•Advanced students spent time traveling between schools as there were not enough students in the 9/10 to offer sections of advanced mathematics, foreign language, etc.
•The state of Alaska has some pretty clear directives in terms of funding. In order for the school district to receive $1.4 million in operating costs for the new school, it MUST be designated as a separate school. It can have different grades, but it must be a distinct entity.
•On the other hand, in order for students at a 9/10 school to be able to participate in athletics/activities at an 11/12 school, they CANNOT be designated as separate schools; in fact, the only students allowed to participate in athletics and activities in another school must come from an “alternative” school.

I go to the highschool now and I think they need to improve the hallways because they are way too small right now and with the city growing, the school that is there now will not be useable by students. Why not pay a more money for a new school since they need to put in a sprinkler system. If they put up more money kids can have a new school for a new start at life. Also with new rooms and a new atmosphere students can do better in school.