Coppell Chronicle Vol. 1, No. 16

City Recognizes June as Pride Month • CHS Teams Get Their Fields of Dreams • North's Previous Principal to Return • Riverchase Receives Renovations

City Recognizes June as Pride Month

The Coppell City Council has issued 12 proclamations this year honoring individuals, minority populations, and aspects of municipal government, and 11 of them were approved unanimously. The outlier is the proclamation issued Tuesday in recognition of Pride Month, because council member John Jun abstained from voting.

“I’ve been on the council for five months now, and I can honestly tell you that the last six days and nights have been the hardest thing, thinking about this item,” Jun said Tuesday to a room full of proclamation supporters (pictured), many of whom were shocked that the vote prompted a discussion at all.

The proclamation recognizes that “the month of June is of historical significance to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community.” It asks Coppell residents “to reflect upon LGBTQ+ history and celebrate a culture where all citizens are respected for who they are regardless of their sexual orientation, love is love, and to wave their flags of pride high.”

A self-described “imperfect person” who believes in “God and Jesus Christ my savior and the word of God,” Jun said he had discussed the proclamation with his pastor, another pastor, and the eighth-graders in his Sunday school class before deciding to abstain from the vote.

“I have welcomed everyone and respected everyone as always, but at the same time, I have always stayed with my conviction on my faith,” he said. “To say that if I’m supporting this, without my heart, it would not be right. But at the same time, to say that I’m opposing it is also not with my heart, so it’s also not right.”

After Jun spoke, council member Brianna Hinojosa-Smith read some prepared remarks, which began with this: “We, individually and collectively, represent all citizens of Coppell. Regardless of our place number, we’re at large, and thus elected to represent everyone, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and so forth.”

Hinojosa-Smith pointed out that the second pillar of the city’s Vision 2040 strategic plan is “foster an inclusive community fabric.” That pillar contains four goals:

1. Celebrate the cultural growth of Coppell

2. Establish events and programs that foster inclusion and celebrate diversity

3. Purposefully break barriers to inclusion

4. Promote socialization and community cohesiveness

“Over my 13 years of service, I have seen and voted on numerous proclamations that have ranged from breast cancer awareness to Fire Prevention Week to Mayor Karen Hunt Day to Asian Pacific American Heritage Month,” Hinojosa-Smith said. “Each and every one has been an acknowledgement of an event, a group, a person, or any of the above. When I vote on a proclamation, it’s an acknowledgement of that group, that event, that person, that barrier that we are breaking. It’s not for me to judge.”

After Hinojosa-Smith’s comments were punctuated by a round of applause, the council voted 5-0 to approve the proclamation, with Jun abstaining and the Place 3 seat being vacant until Don Carroll takes his oath of office next month. Mayor Wes Mays then handed the microphone to Leslie McMurray, who is the transgender education and advocacy associate at Resource Center.

“We’re starting to see more of these Pride proclamations pop up,” McMurray said, “because really, truly, when you get down to it, there’s no reason why religious freedom and justice for all can’t walk hand in hand.”

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CHS Teams Get Their Fields of Dreams

Coppell High School’s baseball and softball programs are set to receive a major facilities upgrade, after the school board unanimously voted to authorize about $3.7 million worth of renovations to their stadiums.

In 2016, Coppell ISD voters approved a $249 million bond package by the narrowest of margins: 22 votes. Five years later, the completed projects associated with that bond package have come in under budget by a cumulative $19.5 million. On Monday, the school board approved their staff’s recommendation to spend about $8.3 million of those savings on a variety of annual allotments and special projects.

The biggest of those special projects will be replacing the grass on the baseball and softball fields with artificial turf, at a cost of $2.5 million. As several baseball and softball parents told the board before their vote, turf fields will be safer for the players.

One of those parents was Adrienne Nester, the mother of two baseball outfielders: “I can’t tell you how many rolled ankles they’ve come home with” due to divots in the grass. She also said there’s a lip between the infield and the outfield, “causing lots of black eyes, bruises, big fat lips.”

To hear the parents tell it, turf fields are long overdue in Coppell.

“I want our boys to walk tall, be proud of the facilities that they have,” Richard Williams told the board. “We are an eyesore in Coppell right now, when you look at the neighboring schools, the schools we compete with.”

The remaining $1.2 million will go toward building on-site locker rooms for the baseball and softball teams, as well as their opponents and the umpires. For those who aren’t aware, the baseball and softball complex is behind the Coppell High School Ninth Grade Campus, aka CHS9, which is a few miles from Coppell High School. There are no locker rooms at the complex, so players change into their uniforms before they get there, or they do so behind the outfield fences or in the parking lot.

“Having girls change in the parking lot is not acceptable,” Amy Sigman, the mother of two softball players, told the board. “And anybody that thinks it’s OK, you know, we need to revisit that.”

The 2016 bond package included $672,000 to build locker rooms at the complex, but Chief Operations Officer Greg Axelson recommended that the board allocate an additional $500,000 from the aforementioned savings to the project.

“That’s enough to build a cinder block rectangle, and that’s about it,” Axelson said of the $672,000. “It’s not going to be enough to build locker rooms, to build restrooms, to build a changing room for the officials. It’s enough to build a rectangle with two doors so kids can go in and change clothes.”

Beyond the safety issues, the artificial turf will eliminate a competitive disadvantage for the Coppell programs. When their home fields are soaked by rain, the Cowboys and Cowgirls have to drive to schools in other cities just so they can practice. Despite all of that extra travel, the baseball team made it to the fourth round of the 2021 playoffs and was one of the final 16 teams still playing in Class 6A.

“It is time for us to level the playing field, both literally and figuratively,” parent Cathy Edington said.

It’s very possible that a renovated baseball and softball complex will generate revenue for the district. As anybody who’s seen Field of Dreams knows, if you build it, he (or they) will come. Once the turf fields and locker rooms are added, Coppell will be able to host preseason tournaments and postseason series for both sports. Baseball dad Tom Fee told the board he estimates that Denton’s Guyer High School made almost $40,000 by hosting baseball playoff games this spring.

Between the newfound revenue and the maintenance costs that would be eliminated by moving from grass to turf, “this could have a positive long-term impact on the operating budget,” Axelson told the board.

In the end, the board not only approved Axelson’s recommendation, they were eager to augment the baseball and softball facilities even further.

“I am worried that this isn’t enough money and that it’s not going to be a robust enough locker room,” trustee Leigh Walker said. “I would be more interested in doing it right, right now, so that we don’t have to Band-Aid it in the next couple of years.”

Trustee David Caviness and Superintendent Brad Hunt clarified that Monday’s vote would not limit the locker rooms’ budget to $1.2 million. The staff could come back to the board with a larger project after talking with the programs’ coaches and the district’s architects.

Meanwhile, there was a consensus among the board that the bleachers’ capacity may need to be increased. After all, if people will come, they’ll need places to sit.

“You can’t get the revenue if the stands only seat 200,” trustee Anthony Bond said. “What if you could have 400 or 500 sitting in there comfortably?”

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North’s Previous Principal to Return

I wouldn’t be surprised if Coppell Middle School North teachers have been singing a certain song by The Who lately: “Meet the new boss; same as the old boss.”

Greg Axelson was named the principal of North in 2017. After three years in that role, he became the district’s Chief Operations Officer. Replacing him at North last year was Lorie Squalls, who had previously been the principal of Austin Elementary.

Well, the district announced on June 3 that Axelson is returning to North after just one year, while Squalls is headed to Richardson ISD. (Her title there will be “Executive Director of the Berkner High School and STEM Academy Area Learning Community.” Good luck fitting that on a business card.)

“Serving the district as COO was the chance of a lifetime, and I am proud of the work my teams did this past year,” Axelson said in an email to North parents and guardians. “It was my honor to serve in that role, and I am grateful for the experience. I have felt deeply compelled, however, to return to North and to continue our team’s mission. My work here is not done, and my passion for partnering directly with teachers and nurturing our students has called me home.”

During last Monday’s Board of Trustees meeting, Axelson laid out some of the projects from the 2016 bond package that remain on hold because district officials have determined they weren’t necessary. One of them was a $100,000 redesign of North’s parking lot.

When Axelson told the board “I spoke to the former principal at CMS North [and] the current principal at CMS North,” the room erupted in laughter. (Superintendent Brad Hunt chimed in with: “And the future principal at CMS North.”) After talking with the man in the mirror, Axelson reached an internal consensus on the parking lot redesign: “We don’t need that.”

On June 4, the day after Axelson’s return to North was announced, I asked Director of Communications Amanda Simpson whether the COO position would be filled or eliminated. I figured the latter option was a possibility, given CISD’s budget deficit.

And if you’re wondering how CISD can have a budget deficit, given the extra millions I wrote about in the previous article, here’s a quick primer on the duality of school finances. Each district has two tax rates, and the money raised by those tax rates goes into separate buckets that can’t be mixed.

• Maintenance & Operations: These taxes are used for salaries, supplies, utilities, insurance, fuel, etc.

• Debt Service: These taxes can be used only to retire bonds sold for specific purposes: construction, renovations, buses, portable buildings, land, technology, and the cost of issuing bonds.

Here’s how Simpson answered my question about the COO position: “As part of our efforts to address the budget deficit, every vacant position is evaluated to determine if it will be filled at the same level, filled at a different level, or transitioned among current staff.”

Four days later, the job was posted. It’s part of the highest pay grade on the district’s latest administrative-professional pay plan, along with the Chief Financial Officer and the two Assistant Superintendents. The annual salaries for those four positions range from $142,649 to $192,997.

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Riverchase Receives Renovations

I noticed a crane at Riverchase Elementary School the other day, so I got curious about what was happening at the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District’s lone Coppell campus.

CFBISD voters approved a $350 million bond package in 2018, and that money is being used for renovations to campuses at all levels across the district. Riverchase is one of seven elementary schools receiving updates this summer; six more elementaries will get makeovers next summer.

Chief Operations Officer Malcolm Mulroney told me the work at Riverchase mainly focuses on system upgrades: a new roof, new HVAC units and controls, new security cameras, and an improved public address system.

“We also get to dress up the front door a little bit but also provide some protection,” Mulroney said. The dressing up will be done via new benches; the protection will be provided by new bollards.

Riverchase’s library will get new stacks, new flooring, a makerspace, a shared technology space, and an “anchor element” with a nest theme, because the school’s mascot is an eagle.

Finally, the finishes in the front hallway will get a long-overdue update.

“Back in the early 2000s, they were using this four-stripe color scheme, and it did not date well,” Mulroney said with a laugh.

Mulroney was kind enough to share an entire slide deck about the Riverchase project. Click here if you’d like to review it, but heed this disclaimer that he asked me to include: Renderings are only a graphic representation utilized during the design phase; the final construction may be different.

One last thing: In the May 30 edition of the Coppell Chronicle, I reported that CFBISD would be opening a Virtual Academy in the fall. Those plans have changed, because the bill that would have funded new virtual schools was not approved before the Legislature’s regular session ended on Memorial Day.

In his June 3 report to the CFBISD Board of Trustees, Superintendent John Chapman said people have asked him whether the Virtual Academy could still launch this fall if the Legislature approves funding in a special session.

“The answer’s going to be no,” Chapman said. “We’re already in June. We don’t know when they’re going to meet. We don’t know what time we’ll get an answer for that.”

Bright-side view: Riverchase and many other brick-and-mortar schools in CFBISD will be improved when classes begin in August.

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Community Calendar

Fun Things to Do With Your Dog: On June 19, trainers from Camp Bow Wow will offer free lessons on making a trip to the dog park fun for both you and your dog, competitive obedience, and canine CPR. Important note: This class is for humans only. Dogs should not attend.

Celebrate Coppell: The city’s major Independence Day activities, the Parade Down Parkway and the Party in the Park, are scheduled for July 3. The deadline to register for the parade is June 25. There’s also a patriotic decorating competition called Red, White and Views. Its registration deadline is June 18.

Coppell ISD Open Enrollment: If you live in Coppell but outside the boundaries of Coppell ISD, your children may be able to attend CISD schools. The application deadline is July 9.