Coppell Chronicle Vol. 3, No. 36
Exclusive: DA Rejected CISD Bus Driver Case • District Keeps Lobbying Against Vouchers • Gates Approved for Blackberry Farm • Valley Ranch Development Narrowly Defeated
Exclusive: DA Rejected CISD Bus Driver Case
The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office has rejected a case alleging sexual abuse by a Coppell ISD bus driver.
Last May, Coppell ISD announced that Paul Russo had been arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child. The arrest warrant signed by Judge Brandon Birmingham indicated the alleged assaults happened on two consecutive days in April.
This month, I contacted Birmingham’s 292nd Judicial District Court for an update on the case. Court Coordinator Jessica Esparza-Ramirez told me it had been assigned to a different court, the 282nd Judicial District Court. But that was a moot point, because Esparza-Ramirez said her records indicated the district attorney’s office had rejected the case.
Claire Crouch, a spokeswoman for District Attorney John Creuzot, confirmed that the case was rejected, but she did not say why, and she has not answered my follow-up questions.
I’m no lawyer, but “rejected” is a legal term that I was not familiar with. So I turned to Mike Howard, a criminal defense attorney in Dallas, for an explanation.
“When a case is rejected by the DA’s office, that means they have decided not to accept it for prosecution,” Howard said via email. “Every case is different (so it’s impossible to guess the reasons for an individual case being rejected), but in general, cases are rejected because of problems with the evidence.”
Howard added that a law enforcement agency can refile a rejected case if they find new evidence that may change the prosecutor’s mind.
I contacted Russo after learning of the case’s rejection. Other than expressing relief, he declined to say anything on the record.
When announcing Russo’s arrest in May, Coppell ISD pointed out that he was an employee of Durham School Services, the company that has operated the district’s buses since the corruption-plagued government agency known as Dallas County Schools was dissolved in 2018. That May statement also said Durham had fired Russo.
In May and this month, Coppell ISD spokeswoman Amanda Simpson referred questions about the case to Edward Flavin, a spokesman for National Express, Durham’s Illinois-based parent company. Then and now, Flavin has not replied to my inquiries.
District Keeps Lobbying Against Vouchers
Two weeks ago, I told you about the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees issuing a statement against vouchers that could be used to offset tuition at private schools. On Monday, the trustees doubled down by approving a proclamation on the same subject.
Before Monday’s 6-0 vote on the proclamation (Trustee Jobby Mathew was absent), Trustee Leigh Walker twirled her metaphorical drumsticks.
“I feel like every time there’s a session, we get out a big old drum. And we’re getting out our drum, and we’re all beating it,” Walker said. “And we’re all beating the same beat across the state of Texas.”
Walker was not talking about drumming during a jam session. She was referencing this year’s third special legislative session, which began on Oct. 9 and will end on Nov. 7. Despite pressure from Gov. Greg Abbott, the Texas House is no closer to passing a bill that would create education savings accounts, aka vouchers.
The anti-vouchers drumbeat continued on Tuesday, during Coppell ISD’s State of the District showcase. Attendees received copies of a flyer that featured contact information for Abbott and the legislators whose districts overlap with Coppell ISD’s boundaries.
Tuesday’s event also featured a presentation from Cottonwood Creek Elementary Principal Andra Penny and Wilson Elementary Principal Cooper Hilton. She’s a former president of the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association, and he’s that organization’s president-elect. They pointed out that the vouchers bill passed by the Texas Senate would provide $8,000 per child, but the state’s basic allotment for public school districts has been $6,160 per student since 2019.
One more piece of “Coppell ISD vs. Texas” news: On Thursday, a judge in Travis County temporarily blocked the Texas Education Agency from releasing its annual A-F ratings of schools. Coppell ISD is among dozens of school districts that sued the TEA to delay the ratings.
(See “Coppell ISD Joins Accountability Lawsuit” in Vol. 3, No. 30.)
Gates Approved for Blackberry Farm
After a two-week delay, the Coppell City Council has approved a zoning change that will allow Blackberry Farm to be a gated community.
The council began considering the proposal from developer Terry Holmes on Oct. 10, even though he added three new conditions to it that day. These are his words:
Developer will have the option for material storage on one lot of developer’s choice. Lot would be fenced with 6’-8’ high stained cedar wood fence. The fence would be set at build line at front of property. Material storage lot would possibly move during build out of development.
Developer would have the option to change to masonry monument street signs or decorative steel street signs per staff approval.
Building permits for houses may be issued before completion of front screen walls and entry gates. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued until subdivision is completed. This would be similar to the landscaping and completion of Lot 2X per existing PD.
Because his staff didn’t see those conditions until the day of the hearing, City Manager Mike Land suggested everything be put on hold until the council’s next meeting. That meeting happened last Tuesday, when Senior Planner Mary Paron-Boswell told the council the first two requests on Holmes’ list could be handled administratively; only the third one needed their approval.
The council then approved Holmes’ revised proposal by a vote of 6-0. (Council Member Brianna Hinojosa-Smith was absent, as was Mayor Wes Mays, who votes only when a tie needs to be broken.) As a result, the city will not be responsible for maintaining the streets within Blackberry Farm, including its bridge over Denton Creek. That burden will fall on a yet-to-be-formed homeowners association. The same rules apply at Coppell’s only gated community, Fairways at Riverchase.
Here’s a sneak peek at what Blackberry Farm’s gates will look like:
Between Sandy Lake Road and those gates, residents and visitors will pass this sign featuring “laser cut steel gold lettering.”
(If you want to read even more about Blackberry Farm, click here to review all Coppell Chronicle editions that include articles about the development.)
The City Council took a few other notable actions on Tuesday:
• During their regular session, they voted 6-0 to create a reinvestment zone around a new building at Sandy Lake Road and Royal Lane. Welbilt, a Florida company that makes appliances for commercial kitchens, is expected to move its headquarters there. In December, the council will consider giving Welbilt an eight-year, 75-percent abatement on the city’s portion of taxes on furniture, fixtures, and equipment; an eight-year, 90-percent abatement on the city’s portion of real property taxes; and a cash grant of $250,000.
“This is a huge coup for Coppell, in my opinion,” Council Member Jim Walker said. “This is another corporate headquarter relocation. These things are wonderful to get, and it’s a huge compliment to our community to be able to attract this quality kind of company who’s going to come in and buy one of our buildings and set up shop for many, many moons.”
• During their work session, they gave the go-ahead for a $12 million replacement of the city’s Service Center rather than a $6.5 million remodeling project. They made this decision after several council members toured the facility behind Life Safety Park that includes locker rooms for employees of the Public Works and Parks & Recreation departments.
“I think about how hard our team worked in February of 2021,” Council Member Kevin Nevels said. “They’re out there taking care of citizens, taking care of their water, you know, out there in the cold, and I want to make sure they’ve got a good place to come back to, where they have proper facilities, and make sure that they feel like they’re treated with dignity and respect and they have a good place to work out of.”
• During their executive session, they received legal advice from City Attorney Bob Hager about the pending ordinance for the Forest Creek planned development that they approved last month. That would be the house and office building that architects Jose Fernando Teruya and Eliana Moromizato Teruya want to build along Denton Tap Road. (See “Unusual Home Will be Built on Denton Tap” in Vol. 3, No. 30.)
I would have supplemented this item with a council member’s quote like the previous two, but reporters aren’t allowed to listen to executive sessions.
Valley Ranch Development Narrowly Defeated
The third time was not the charm for the developer who wants to build homes on a vacant parcel in Valley Ranch.
Last April, the Irving Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-3 to recommend approval of Sateesh Allada’s original plan to construct 77 townhomes on the lot next to MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church. But Allada and the church asked the Irving City Council to postpone their hearing on the proposal before withdrawing it altogether.
In July, the commissioners voted 6-2 to recommend approval of Allada’s revised plan to build about 40 zero-lot-line homes. But on the day of the council’s hearing, he requested an indefinite postponement after some elected officials — including Al Zapanta, whose council district includes Valley Ranch — expressed opposition.
On Oct. 2, the commissioners considered Allada’s latest plan to build about 37 houses on the property, which he bought from the church in July. A 5-4 majority of the commissioners recommended denial of his zoning request, which went before the council on Thursday.
“I really hope that we get through this,” Allada said as he wrapped up his presentation to the council. “It’s almost 10 months coming back, and I’m really wasting a lot of time. I want your support.”
During the council’s debate, John Bloch laid out several ways that Allada’s latest list of requested variances would make his development more like a zero-lot-line district (abbreviated as “R-ZLa” in Irving’s Code of Ordinances) than the single-family “R-6” zoning that formed the basis of his proposal.
“For all intents and purposes, this is an abuse — in my opinion — of variances, which are meant to accommodate small variations in real space to work around the inflexibility of how we have to abstractly construct the code,” Bloch said. “This is taking an R-6, for the sole purpose of slapping the label ‘R-6’ on this, and then they’re handing us ZLa. I am against that because if you want ZLa, ask for ZLa.”
After noting that more than 40 people expressed opposition to Allada’s original proposal, Zapanta asked, “Are we gonna continue to have variances so that we can actually do what I call ‘packing’ or really being in a situation where we’re creating density beyond what should be there?”
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Webb said he was “pretty amazed” by the focus on variances in this case.
“I’ve been on this council 12 years. I have seen us give all kind of variances to make things and make subdivisions work,” he said. “We’ve been giving variances for years. We do this all the time.”
Webb made a motion to approve Allada’s proposal, which was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Phil Riddle and supported by Abdul Khabeer and Kyle Taylor. Voting against it were Bloch, Mark Cronenwett, Brad LaMorgese, Mayor Rick Stopfer, and Zapanta.
Congratulations Are in Order
• Congratulations to Coppell High School’s varsity marching band, which won the Area B championship on Oct. 21. This was the program’s third consecutive area title, which was the first such three-peat in school history. Up next are the UIL State Marching Band Championships. Coppell is scheduled to perform at high noon tomorrow at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
• Congratulations to Coppell High School’s chess team, which competed at the Texas North Scholastic Grade Championships this month in Houston. Senior Sharvesh Deviprasath was the individual champion among 12th-graders. Juniors Nayan Gandra, Aniruddha Kumar, and Lorenzo Rodriguez captured the 11th-grade team championship, and sophomores Amay Babel and Liam Li won the team championship for 10th-graders.
• Congratulations to the Coppell Arts Center, which dominated The Dallas Morning News’ Best in DFW: People’s Choice awards. The Old Town facility won gold in six categories, and I’ve listed the silver medalist in each of them for perspective’s sake: Arts & Culture Event (Turtle Creek Chorale), Concert Venue (The Echo Lounge & Music Hall), Entertainment District (Deep Ellum), Family-Friendly Show (Perot Museum of Nature and Science), Live Theatre Venue (Upright Theatre Company), and Art Gallery (Cris Worley).
• Congratulations to the eight Coppell residents who have qualified for the USA Pickleball National Championships: Ted Bartley, Kim Forsythe, Nicole Frieder, Nicole Iniestra, Kris Lonborg, Jesus Martinez, Helen Wilhelm, and Nancy Yingling. The tournament is scheduled for Nov. 6-12 at Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch.
• Congratulations to these well-dressed and well-read folks who earned one-year subscriptions (or extensions) by buying a Coppell Chronicle shirt from Tee Public. If you want to make best use of that offer, you should know Tee Public has a sale going until midnight tomorrow. Just be sure to send a copy of your receipt (or a selfie featuring your shirt) to bydankoller@gmail.com. If you don’t want a shirt, you can simply buy a paid subscription for $30.
Chronicle Crumbs
• If your commute involves Moore Road, listen up: The contractors working on DART’s Silver Line tracks plan to close Moore’s northbound lane near Belt Line Road from Nov. 8 through Dec. 11. When it reopens, they’ll then close the southbound lanes until Jan. 11. After that, the entire intersection will be closed for three days, most likely over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend.
• In last week’s Chronicle Crumbs, I reported that Coppell was about to solicit bids from contractors who want to reconstruct the Magnolia Park Trail. Not so fast. During Tuesday’s council meeting, City Manager Mike Land said that process would be delayed until 2024 due to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “requesting some additional information.” (See “Trail Project Delayed by Antiquities Survey” in Vol. 3, No. 4.)
• On Monday, the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees approved the purchase of eight 77-passenger buses from Longhorn Bus Sales at a cost of $139,370 per vehicle. That $1,114,960 will come from the remaining funds associated with the $249 million bond package narrowly approved by voters in 2016.
• Coppell resident and Chronicle subscriber Steve Gibbons inspired a “Watchdog” column in The Dallas Morning News about how to shop for cheaper electricity. That column appears in the Metro section of today’s print edition of the newspaper, which anybody can read for free at the Cozby Library and Community Commons.
• Could your small business use a new logo? Manuel Vasquez’s graphic design students at New Tech High are creating them for free as part of a project. If you’re interested, send an email to mvasquez@coppellisd.com.
• Coppell ISD is seeking parents, high school students, and community members who are willing to serve on one of seven Strategic Planning Action Teams.
• The vacant Steak ’n Shake building near Grapevine Mills will be taken over by Pollo Regio next year, according to a form filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
• This morning, nine days after Pharmacy Plus supposedly closed its Coppell store for good, two neon “OPEN” signs were blinking in its windows.
Community Calendar
Dracula: Coppell-based Ballet Ensemble of Texas will perform the story of the world’s most famous vampire at 6 p.m. today at the Irving Arts Center.
Coppell Cowgirls Soccer Trunk or Treat: The soccer program will raise funds by hosting an event featuring games, pumpkin decorating, and prizes between 6 and 8 p.m. today in the Coppell High School fieldhouse parking lot.
Me!: Coppell High School’s Vivace show choir will be joined by students from Coppell Middle School East and Coppell Middle School West when they perform at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday in the high school auditorium.
Fall Frolic: Celebrate the natural environment, the season’s changing colors, and cooler temperatures at the Biodiversity Education Center’s annual event. Scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, it will feature guided hikes led by the Friends of Coppell Nature Park, airbrush tattoos, games, crafts, and giveaways.
Indie Author Fair: The Cozby Library and Community Commons will host an event that brings independent authors and their potential readers together between 1 and 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Taste of Coppell: Stuff yourself at the Coppell Chamber of Commerce’s showcase of local restaurants, which will happen between 4 and 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Four Points by Sheraton hotel.
Holiday Craft Market: Crafters from the Coppell Senior Center will have a variety of items available for purchase between 1 and 4 p.m. on Nov. 5 at the Cozby Library and Community Commons. Cash is strongly encouraged because some vendors do not accept credit cards.
Fire Prevention Safety Show: The Coppell Fire Department Edutainment Troupe (formerly known as the CFD Clown Troupe) will perform at 10 a.m. on Nov. 7 at the Coppell Arts Center.
Coppell Holiday House: The annual gift and craft show benefiting Project Graduation is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 12 at Coppell High School.
Gobble Wobble 5K and Fun Run: These races are scheduled for Nov. 18 at Andrew Brown Park East. If you register by this Saturday (Nov. 4), you could win a Thanksgiving turkey.
Wonderful news about voting against vouchers! The only reason we moved to Coppell was the robust PUBLIC school system, which is best accomplished when we are all working together to support that mission. Happy to continue to be a part of the community!
Wonderful happenings go on in Coppell!
I’m very proud of our community!