Coppell Chronicle Vol. 2, No. 51

Senior Pickleballers Get Sweet News • CFBISD Trustees Call Bond Election • Coppell ISD Trustees Have Few Misgivings • Plans for Elementary Schools Clarified

As a native of Philadelphia who was raised on a steady diet of Ron Jaworski and Randall Cunningham highlights, I’m racing to get this edition published before the Super Bowl kicks off. Thanks for taking a few minutes away from the seven-hour pregame show to read it. Go Birds!

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Senior Pickleballers Get Sweet News

As you may recall, older pickleball enthusiasts have been pleading with Coppell officials to provide an indoor venue for their favorite game. (See “Pickleballers Want to Go Inside and Play” in the Jan. 22 edition.) Last week, those senior citizens’ wish was granted.

The Community Experiences Department announced that The CORE will offer open pickleball sessions in its gymnasium between 9 and 11 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting this week. Participants will need to buy a CORE membership, which costs $250 per year for a Coppell resident, but the price for seniors (55 and older) is $150. Each of those fees are doubled for family memberships.

The new hours were announced on Tuesday, but two of the most ardent proponents of indoor pickleball must have been given a heads-up. They showed up to Monday’s meeting of the Coppell Parks and Recreation Board to thank the Community Experiences staff — and the Parks and Rec Board members — for this change in policy.

“Your positive response to pickleball players shows you care and was listening,” Jack Henderson said. “There will come a time when silent taxpayers will have to stand up and speak up and be counted. Thank you for all you do to make our home, our city, a better place to live.”

George Piromouff seconded Henderson’s remarks: “We appreciate your efforts very much on behalf of the senior citizens and the people of the Coppell Senior Center.” (Piromouff also lauded recent improvements to the trails at Andrew Brown Park East and Moore Road Park.)

The new indoor hours overlap with the outdoor open sessions at the Wagon Wheel Tennis and Pickleball Center: 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. The Wagon Wheel facility also offers pickleball lessons from 6 to 7 p.m. on Mondays and from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays.

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CFBISD Trustees Call Bond Election

Voters in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD — which includes portions of Coppell and Irving — will decide whether to issue $716 million worth of debt to cover various projects, including the reconstruction of three elementary schools. On Feb. 2, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to call a bond election.

“I know that our bond election is a big number,” Trustee Carolyn Benavides said before the vote. “We appreciate support from our community, and I want you all to know that we are very aware of that high-dollar request, but it’s necessary changes that we need in our community for our schools.”

According to the school district’s Bond Planning Committee, approval of the $716 million bond package would not require an increase in CFBISD’s tax rate, which is among the lowest in the region. Nonetheless, a state law requires the ballot proposition to include the statement “THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE,” because a district could lower its debt-service tax rate if it didn’t sell bonds.

“Do I have concerns about the amount? I absolutely do,” said Trustee Tara Hrbacek, who added that the bond proposal was built by a sample of the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD community. “By calling the bond election, it allows the balance of our community to decide what they want to invest their money in, because this money stays with CFBISD. It does not go to the state; it stays with us.”

Speaking of big decisions, the Carrollton-Farmers Branch trustees have had seven special meetings since Jan. 26 — including one that started at 6 o’clock on Saturday night — to interview and discuss candidates to be their next superintendent. Another special meeting has been scheduled for 5 p.m. on Wednesday, and it includes this agenda item: “Consider Naming Lone Finalist for the Position of School Superintendent.”

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Coppell ISD Trustees Have Few Misgivings

Coppell ISD trustees debated a potential bond election for more than three hours on Monday night, and most of the recommendations from their Bond Steering Committee were deemed “no-brainers.” The district-wide items under that label included $11.3 million worth of safety and security investments, $41.6 million worth of technology, and $82.6 million worth of priority condition needs.

“We’ve got to address our priority needs. I mean, we have to; that has to happen,” Trustee Leigh Walker said. “I have a real sense of urgency.”

However, Walker was among the trustees who had questions about a few items on specific campuses. For example, she expressed some misgivings about a $6.8 million renovation of the domed auditorium at the Coppell High School Ninth Grade Campus. She also wasn’t sure about spending a total of $30.9 million on new fine arts rehearsal spaces at Coppell High School and Coppell Middle School North.

Walker clarified that her concerns about rehearsal spaces were limited to the high school. She had no issue with adding them at North, so that it’s equitable with the other two middle schools.

“It just seems like a very material change and difference at CHS to build that whole fine arts rehearsal space,” said Walker, whose sentiments on this point were echoed by Nichole Bentley. “That seems like a pretty big deal.”

Cindy Powell, the consultant who guided the work of the Bond Steering Committee, said $19.1 million of the $30.9 million was allocated for Coppell High School and $11.8 million was allocated for North.

Assistant Superintendent Kristen Eichel suggested having Coordinator of Fine Arts Gerry Miller available to answer trustees’ questions tomorrow evening, when they will most likely make their final decision on a bond package. No pressure, but Friday is the deadline to put a bond package on the ballot for this spring’s election.

As they debated each item in the Facilities Master Plan last Monday, the trustees seemed to be singing from the same song sheet, with one exception. Anybody who regularly reads the Coppell Chronicle will not be surprised by who stood alone.

“I’m not going to support anything because, basically, this is just on paper,” said Neena Biswas, who worried that the funds approved by voters could be spent quicker than expected, leading to another bond election in just a couple of years.

In response to Biswas’ concerns, Powell pointed out that the Bond Steering Committee’s recommendation includes contingency dollars to account for overages and inflation. And Chief Financial Officer Diana Sircar spoke up to defend Coppell ISD’s record of fiscal responsibility. For example, she said, the district completed all of the projects in the 2016 bond package, all of which came in under budget.

“We can’t predict the future,” Sircar told Biswas, “but this process really helps us to set aside and to budget for the amount of funds that we’re going to need to complete the projects that are on the list.”

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Plans for Elementary Schools Clarified

The Coppell ISD Bond Steering Committee recommended renovating three elementary schools as part of a bond package that would be put to voters this year, then renovating five others in a separate package that would be on the ballot in 2028. Monday’s workshop was the first time I’d heard anybody publicly specify which three schools would be prioritized.

Consultant Cindy Powell showed this slide that recommended Austin, Lakeside, and Valley Ranch elementaries be renovated first. She said the district’s administration selected those schools based on the buildings’ condition needs, current and projected enrollment, and where the district’s pre-kindergarten population resides.

The inclusion of Austin on that list means my unsubstantiated speculation about that school’s fate in the Jan. 29 edition was worth the paper it was printed on. (Because the Chronicle is a digital publication, it wasn’t printed on any paper. See what I did there?)

Trustee Manish Sethi asked Powell to clarify why the Bond Steering Committee recommended renovating eight elementary schools instead of all nine that were built in the 20th century.

“The committee recognized that the district has more than sufficient capacity today — for its facilities, for its elementary schools — to take care of projected enrollment over a period of time,” Powell said.

Powell also said the committee took the total price tag of a bond package into account, knowing that survey voters didn’t have much appetite for supporting more than $320 million worth of debt.

“They wanted to just focus those dollars on campuses where we most needed capacity,” she said.

Sethi then brought up a recent discussion about expanding open enrollment. (See “Trustees Open to Widening Opening Enrollment” in the Jan. 15 edition.) Knowing that the district’s demographer projects Coppell ISD’s elementaries will have nearly 1,500 open seats six years from now, he asked the administration if they envisioned any possibility of filling all of those chairs via open enrollment. Assistant Superintendent Kristen Eichel said that would be highly unlikely.

Sethi then pointed out that nobody has specified which of the nine older elementary schools would be left out of the bond-funded renovations. He said the decision to renovate only eight of the nine was based on a holistic view of the entire district.

“To be fiscally responsible to our taxpayers, we just can’t spend more money,” Sethi said, “when we know there’s such an extra cost, and there’s an operations cost, to keep all these seats open. So it’s all about being fiscally responsible.”

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Chronicle Crumbs

• If you and your canine companions patronize Waggin’ Tails Dog Park, you’ll want to tune into Tuesday’s Coppell City Council work session (or read my account of it in next Sunday’s Chronicle). Director of Community Experiences Jessica Carpenter is set to brief the council on a proposed renovation, and she gave a preview to the Parks and Recreation Board last Monday. Based on dog owners’ feedback and price estimates for piecemeal improvements to the park, she said, “It makes sense to kind of scrape it and start over.”

• Saturday morning was when I first noticed a campaign sign related to this spring’s elections. That sign was touting the candidacy of Jim Walker, who faces Ramesh Premkumar in what is, at the moment, the only contested Coppell City Council race. Incumbents Don Carroll, Mark Hill, and John Jun have no challengers yet, but the filing period doesn’t end until 5 p.m. this Friday.

• There is still only one contested race for the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees, but the lineup has changed. Julie Waters bowed out of the Place 4 field on Tuesday, and Jonathan Powers filed his paperwork two days later. The other contenders for that seat are Samit Patel and Ranna Raval. This Friday is the deadline to oppose Board President David Caviness’ reelection bid, but anyone who is thinking about challenging Jobby Mathew has until March 6 to make a decision.

• The agenda for this Thursday’s meeting of the Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission says a developer plans to build a Popeyes and a Starbucks along State Highway 121, between Northwestern Drive and Freeport Parkway. That agenda does not include any items in Old Town.

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Community Calendar

Teen Mardi Gras Celebration: Teenagers are invited to drop by the Cozby Library and Community Commons between 3 and 5:30 p.m. on Friday, when they will be able to learn more about Mardi Gras by eating, dancing, crafting, and answering trivia questions.

The Odd Couple: Theatre Coppell will stage nine performances of Neil Simon’s classic comedy starting on Friday at the Coppell Arts Center.

Regional Neighborhood Summit: Coppell, Flower Mound, and Lewisville residents are all invited to this event scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday at Life Safety Park.

Frost Fest: This free festival for families will feature a variety of snowy activities, no matter what the actual weather looks like on Saturday. It’s scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Levy Event Plaza in Las Colinas.

Texas A&M Singing Cadets: The finest voices from Aggieland will perform at the Coppell Arts Center at 3 p.m. on Feb. 19. This concert is hosted by the Coppell A&M Club. Whoop!

Preschool Fair: The Coppell Early Childhood Association will host an informal open house between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 25 at the Cozby Library and Community Commons.

Make and Take Loom Creation: Girl Scouts from Troop 7326 would like to teach you how to make ear warmers and other accessories between 1:15 and 4 p.m. on Feb. 26 in the Coppell Justice Center conference room. A loom kit and yarn will be provided, as will refreshments. Space is limited, so send an email to troop7236@hotmail.com to reserve a seat.

No Tune Like a Show Tune: The Coppell Community Chorale will belt out Broadway’s best at 3 p.m. on Feb. 26 at the Coppell Arts Center.

Coffee With a Cop: Coppell Police Department officers will be hanging out at Ecclesia Bakery & Brunch between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. on March 4.