Coppell Chronicle Vol. 3, No. 28
Coppell ISD OKs Another Deficit Budget • One-Cop-Per-Campus Plan Gets Adjusted • Soccer Fields Shuttered Due to Drought • Lewisville ISD Alters Election Procedures
Coppell ISD OKs Another Deficit Budget
Coppell ISD trustees on Monday unanimously approved a budget with a deficit of nearly $13.6 million, hoping the Texas Legislature will surprise them with an infusion of cash.
The state’s basic allotment for school districts is $6,160 per student. It’s been at that level since 2019, when lawmakers raised it by $1,020, which was an increase of nearly 20 percent.
Chief Financial Officer Diana Sircar has estimated that the basic allotment would need to be increased by $1,175 to erase Coppell ISD’s projected deficit. That would be an increase of 19 percent.
On Monday, Sircar told the trustees that bills were filed this year that would have helped the district’s bottom line. Unfortunately, the Legislature didn’t approve any of them. Lawmakers are expected to be back in Austin in October for a special session on education.
“You are dealing with a moving target,” Trustee Manish Sethi told Sircar. “Obviously, such kind of deficit budgets are not sustainable long-term. So, hopefully, something positive will come out [of the next special session]. And I’ll address it to all of us, and the community: We need to keep advocating to our lawmakers to pass proper bills and make them laws.”
Sircar and her staff always budget conservatively, meaning they assume every position will be filled for the entire year and all employees will sign up for the district’s health insurance. Neither of those things ever happens, which leads to savings relative to the budgeted amounts.
Last August, the trustees approved a budget that included a $9.7 million deficit. Sircar said it looks like the actual deficit for 2022-2023 will be about $3 million once the final audit is complete.
(If some of this sounds familiar, then you must have read “Trustees Have Tough Decisions to Make” in Vol. 3, No. 16.)
No matter how big the deficit is, a deficit of any size means dipping into the district’s fund balance to make ends meet. Sircar showed the trustees this chart and said, “This is what the fund balance would look like if we allow this type of spending to continue year after year.”
She followed that up with this chart that showed “the district would fall below 80 days of cash on hand in 2026 unless there is some intervention in how the budget is spent.”
Also on Monday, the trustees approved a tax rate of $1.0535 per $100 of assessed value. That’s 16.38 cents lower than last year’s tax rate and the district’s lowest tax rate since 1993. Of course, thanks to rising property values, most taxpayers’ bills will still go up.
Recapture, also known as “Robin Hood,” will make up 15 percent of Coppell ISD’s budget expenditures, meaning more than $25 million of local tax dollars will go to the state’s general fund. Coppell ISD has paid $752 million in recapture since 1992.
“We’re going to be counting more and more on our elected officials in Austin to be giving us the money that has been collected in our own ISD that we are not getting to use,” Trustee Nichole Bentley said. “So if you feel confused about the budget or the tax rate, if you feel frustrated, you should reach out to one of us. Please make sure you understand things, because we’re doing everything we can locally to support kids and lower your tax rate, but Austin holds all the cards.”
One-Cop-Per-Campus Plan Gets Adjusted
One bill that did make it out of the Legislature this year requires “at least one armed security officer” on every campus in every school district across Texas. Because there aren’t thousands of cops looking for work in this state, immediately meeting that mandate is impossible.
So, like many other school boards, the Coppell ISD trustees on Monday approved a resolution declaring a good cause exception to the new law, which means they’re working on fulfilling its requirements but they’re not quite there yet. They also approved:
An agreement with the City of Coppell for a 50-50 split on the salaries and benefits for eight new school resource officers who will be assigned to the Coppell ISD elementary campuses in the city limits (estimated cost: $750,000 to $1 million).
An agreement with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department to fully cover the salaries and benefits for the two school resource deputies assigned to Coppell Middle School West and Canyon Ranch Elementary School (maximum cost: $233,484).
An agreement with D&L Entertainment Services to hire two armed security officers who will be assigned to Lee Elementary School and Valley Ranch Elementary School (maximum cost: $170,000).
D&L already provides extra security officers for Coppell ISD’s home football games and graduation ceremonies. Chief Operations Officer Chris Trotter told the trustees that the new assignments ensure that the two campuses located in Cypress Waters will be patrolled by a sheriff’s deputy and a security officer, as will the two schools located in Irving.
Adding to the district’s budget frustrations, the new state law mandating all of these officers provides only $15,000 per campus plus $10 per student.
Before the law was written, the Coppell Police Department already had officers stationed at each of the secondary campuses in the city. On Aug. 22, Police Chief Danny Barton told the City Council that none of the eight positions for the elementary campuses had been filled yet.
“It’s hard to find police officers — period — right now, but we’re having pretty good luck in Coppell,” Barton said. “We’ll probably find them sooner than we think but not as quick as we want.”
Soccer Fields Shuttered Due to Drought
The combination of extreme heat and extended drought has delayed the start of the Coppell Youth Soccer Association’s fall season.
Games were supposed to begin next weekend, but the Coppell Community Experiences Department announced on Thursday that the game fields at Andrew Brown Park West and Wagon Wheel Park will be closed through Sept. 16 “to give our fields time to rehabilitate and allow for a safer, playable surface.” For the same reason, the practice fields at Andrew Brown Park West are closed until early October, and the baseball fields at Moore Road Park are closed indefinitely.
“As this heat drags on, it’s causing serious issues at our fields,” the CYSA said in an email to players and their parents on Thursday. “The city has been filling holes and tending to these fields feverishly, but with this heat and the current water restrictions, the drought is winning.”
Games for players at the U12 level and younger will be rescheduled for later dates. The CYSA was working with the city and Coppell ISD to make the school district’s artificial-turf fields available for older players. Meanwhile, Coppell Baseball Association practices scheduled for the Moore Road Park fields will move to Field 6 at Wagon Wheel Park.
“One weekend of field closures is something we can absorb,” the CYSA’s email said. “If this drought persists and our fields cannot recover and be safe for our players, then we will have to make some tough decisions the further we get into this.”
The city’s staff has pulled the soccer goals from their usual locations and put up signs about the fields being closed. Of course, longtime readers will recall that adult soccer enthusiasts not associated with CYSA routinely ignore such signs when Coppell’s fields are closed due to wet weather. Given that history, I doubt they’re going to follow the rules due to dry weather.
(See “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?” in Vol. 1, No. 9.)
Speaking of following the rules, these Stage 2 watering restrictions remain in effect.
Lewisville ISD Alters Election Procedures
To settle a lawsuit, the Lewisville ISD Board of Trustees has adopted a policy of electing five of its seven members to represent specific areas of the district. Here’s the map associated with the procedures the board unanimously approved on Monday.
The entire Coppell Greens neighborhood is in Lewisville ISD, as are some homes in the East Lake and Westhaven subdivisions along State Highway 121. All of those Coppell properties were drawn into District 2.
Four of the current trustees reside in District 1, including Buddy Bonner and Allison Lassahn, whose terms will end in 2024, and Sheila Taylor, the only board member who isn’t white. Bonner and Lassahn will both be eligible to run again in 2024 because the District 1 seat and one of the two at-large seats will be on the ballot next year. Taylor’s term expires in 2025, when the remaining at-large seat will be available, along with the District 2 and 3 seats.
District 4 is the only area in which none of the current trustees reside. That seat and the District 5 seat won't be on the ballot until 2026.
The Brewer Storefront sued Lewisville ISD last year on behalf of Paige Dixon, a resident of the newly created District 4. (The Storefront — an affiliate of the Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors firm — similarly sued Coppell ISD over its exclusively at-large elections in 2016.) Dixon ran for the Lewisville ISD board in 2021, when she lost to Bonner, 57 percent to 43 percent. Bonner won the green precincts on this map, and Dixon won the blue ones.
Dixon, who is Black, was the only person who signed up to speak during Monday’s public hearing on the new election procedures.
“A few years ago, I ran for Place 1 on the LISD board at the bequest of my community,” she said. “It was an amazing race to run, but when it finished, there was still work to be done. So many families in this district were underrepresented, and what I found during my race was cities like Lewisville and The Colony were getting the short end of the stick in one of the greatest districts in the state. Our board didn’t reflect the beautiful diversity of this district. I pray that this new electoral system helps to close gaps in the district and gives every student, staff member, and parent an advocate.”
Before the final vote related to the new policy, Bonner read a statement.
“We look forward to and embrace a successful implementation of this changed electoral process,” he said. “Rapidly changing demographics from the 2010 census to the 2020 census facilitated this change, based on significantly increased minority population in and around Lewisville. While the lawsuit addresses and reorganized district places around ethnicity of people of voting age, it cannot address a huge constraint to student education, that being poverty.
“Poverty is a great discriminator, potentially dooming kids to a life of diminished expectations and dire opportunity. Poverty touches all races, all creeds, and all colors. One in three Lewisville students lives in poverty. Until poverty is addressed through continued school resources, but also with increased intervention through social services and additional non-school governmental intervention, diminished opportunities will exist for kids. Lewisville ISD will continue to help and care for kids as we have in the past, to provide them with the confidence and equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive and adapt for a successful future and a better tomorrow.”
Triple Traffic Trouble
• Archer Western Herzog, the company building DART’s Silver Line tracks, plans to fully shut down the portion of MacArthur Boulevard due north of East Belt Line Road between 6 a.m. on Sept. 15 and 3 p.m. on Sept. 18. You’ll be able to drive east or west through the intersection on Belt Line that weekend, but north-south traffic will be detoured to either Riverchase Drive/Fairway Drive or to East Bethel School Road/Mockingbird Lane.
• The Aug. 31 edition of the city’s Coppell E-News newsletter was the first place I’d seen it written that South Belt Line Road’s reconstruction won’t be complete until next summer. The extension of the timeline is due to the planned development of the vacant parcel between Dividend Drive and Hackberry Road. (See “Victory Shops Trigger New Traffic Signals” in Vol. 3, No. 19.) I’ll just keep using Freeport Parkway as my primary path out of town.
• The new traffic lights at the intersection of South Belt Line and Wrangler Drive feature red arrows for right turns, leading to a lot of confused drivers. The Coppell Police Department clarified on social media that a right red arrow is the equivalent of a stop sign — your vehicle should completely stop before you turn. (Editorial comment from Mrs. Koller: “You got that, Dan? Stop rolling through those turns without stopping, you maniac!”)
Chronicle Crumbs
• Speaking of traffic, the two most recent editions of Coppell ISD’s Informed Newsletter have included articles asking Coppell High School parents to be good neighbors by NOT dropping their students off on residential streets such as Oak Trail or Shadydale Lane or in the parking lot of The Children’s Courtyard on Town Center Drive. Folks, if you don’t have time to sit through the proper parent loops, then get your kid a bus pass or arrange a carpool.
• If you live east of Denton Tap Road and north of Denton Creek, then you reside in Denton County Levee Improvement District No. 1. That district’s Board of Directors will hold a public hearing on its proposed tax rate at 11 a.m. on Friday at 2951 Lake Vista Drive. The agenda below includes a Zoom link.
• People who live in the Bridges at Las Colinas neighborhood had a scary evening last Sunday, when an electrical substation near the intersection of State Highway 114 and North Belt Line Road caught on fire. Check out this apocalyptic clip recorded on Clementine Drive. I’ve requested a copy of the incident report from the Irving Fire Department but have not received it.
• About six weeks ago, I reported in the Chronicle Crumbs that Coppell ISD had issued a request for proposals to be the district’s new provider of “ready to serve” pizza. Coppell’s Cicis franchise was awarded the primary contract on Monday, but a pair of Domino’s locations in Coppell and Lewisville, the Marco’s in Coppell, and one of Coppell’s two Pizza Huts all signed on as backups. If you want even more details, I have them in this Substack Note.
• If you’d like to become one of the hyperlocal celebrities whose boldfaced names routinely appear in this newsletter, consider applying to serve on a City of Coppell board or commission before Oct. 1. The City of Irving similarly welcomes its residents to apply for service by Sept. 15.
• A giant skeleton began haunting Coppell’s Oak Grove Lane in late July. By the end of August, a trio was in place. Halloween is still two months away, so who knows how big this crowd might get? I’ll continue to monitor the situation.
Community Calendar
Coppell Women’s Club: The Class Act Tap Company will perform during the club’s meeting at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at Church of the Apostles on MacArthur Boulevard.
St. Ann Community Carnival: The 30th anniversary edition of this beloved event is scheduled from 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday, from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, and from 1 to 6 p.m. on Sept. 10.
Coppell Cowgirls Softball Tailgate: The Coppell High School softball program will raise funds by serving burgers and hot dogs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday outside Buddy Echols Field, where the varsity football team will take on the Timber Creek Falcons. (That’s a Keller ISD school located in Fort Worth. Yeah, I’d never heard of it either.)
Eating Healthy for Busy Families: Dietitian Zarana Parekh will be at the Cozby Library and Community Commons at 11 a.m. on Saturday to discuss simple and practical ways to support healthy eating for the entire family. You should leave the entire family at home, though, as this event is for adults only.
Patriot Day: The City of Coppell will mark the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with a ceremony featuring the Coppell Fire and Police Color Guards, along with the Fire Department Bagpipe and Drum Corps. It’s scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 11 outside Town Center.
Four Day Weekend: The acclaimed improv comedy troupe will return to the Coppell Arts Center for their monthly engagement at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 14.
GrapeFest: Our neighbors to the west will host the 37th annual wine festival on Grapevine’s Main Street on Sept. 14, 15, 16, and 17.
My Personal Journey with Mental Health: Coppell resident Tom Ryan, who wrote a book called I Am Crazy: 8 Ways to Kick @#! with Mental Illness, will speak at the Cozby Library and Community Commons at 2 p.m. on Sept. 16.
DART Ice Cream Social: Nice timing — immediately after reopening the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and Belt Line Road (assuming there are no delays), Archer Western Herzog and DART will host an ice cream social from 5 to 6 p.m. on Sept. 18 at The Sound at Cypress Waters.
September Paint & Sip: Fungus Among Us: Kate Shema of Createria Studios will guide participants through the creation of a mushroom painting between 6 and 8 p.m. on Sept. 20 at the Coppell Arts Center.
Art, Sip & Stroll: The Coppell Arts Council’s annual fundraiser in Old Town will feature a headline performance by Downtown Fever - An Emerald City Band. The festivities will begin at 6 p.m. on Sept. 22.
Kaleidoscope: Sept. 22 is the deadline to turn in a vendor application for Coppell’s festival of color, culture, and music, which will happen from 3 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 7 in Old Town.
Vocal Majority: The a cappella chorus that has performed all over the world will bring their voices to the Coppell Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 23.
The Mousetrap: Theatre Coppell will stage nine performances of Agatha Christie’s murder mystery in the Wheelice Wilson Jr. Theatre at the Coppell Arts Center, starting on Sept. 29.
Lewisville Western Days: Our neighbors to the north will host a two-day festival on Sept. 29 and 30 that will feature live music, attractions for all ages, and a tamale-eating contest.
Old Town Coppell Car Show: The Coppell Historical Museum plans to showcase vintage vehicles between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Sept. 30.
World of Foodies: Our neighbors to the east invite you to bring your appetite to Downtown Carrollton between 3 and 9 p.m. on Sept. 30 for a feast of culture and cuisine.
Sunset Social — Music in Old Town: A band called The Wonderfuls will perform at 7 p.m. on Sept. 30, when a few food trucks will cruise into Old Town Coppell.
Thanks Dan. Appreciate the update.
By the way on the Northwest Dallas County Flood Control District in yesterday’s newspaper. In the 1987-88 Texas crash with real estate, oil and banking all crashing, three master planned communities went bankrupt in the Coppell area. Valley Ranch, Vista Ridge and Riverchase (which extends into the far east side of Northlake Woodlands). The one with the most debt in the bankruptcy with little future aspects of commercial taxes was NWDCFCD. It sat bankrupt and empty for several years and finally a settlement was made and the stockholders would get less than 10 cents on the dollar. The Flood District was created to pay off the debt and stockholders, set at 30 cents per $100 for life. I am surprised and pleased that you reported it is dropping to 27.5 cents. That is great news. The homeowners get absolutely no value for living in the district in regard to pay that additional tax.
Mark Wolfe
Thank you for the updated info. I’m worried about our public schools with our governor trying to defund public education and give private schools money. I’m truly worried about people bad mouthing public education. Public education was the engine that helped our country produce world leaders in all areas. It’s heartbreaking to hear the vitriol aimed at public schools and school boards!