Coppell Chronicle Vol. 2, No. 32
Go Meet Your Neighbors on Tuesday • Sales Tax Revenues Get Shifted • Health Council to Tackle Hot Topics • CISD Passes First Intruder Audit
Go Meet Your Neighbors on Tuesday
National Night Out is a big deal locally, so much so that 70 block parties have been scheduled for Tuesday evening throughout Coppell.
“I told another police chief how many block parties we were going to have, and he about hit the floor,” Chief Danny Barton said last Tuesday, before the City Council approved a proclamation endorsing the festivities.
National Night Out began in 1984. The annual event promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. Most cities and states celebrate it on the first Tuesday in August, but Texas waits until the first Tuesday in October because we’re too busy trying not to melt in early August. Coppell began participating in 1991.
“When I first moved into Coppell,” Mayor Wes Mays said, “the way I met my neighbors was through our first National Night Out, so I’m a big fan.”
The National Association of Town Watch honors communities for their participation in National Night Out, and Coppell finished second only to Bartlett, Illinois, last year in the category for cities with populations between 15,000 and 50,000. The other Texas cities honored in our category were No. 9 Cedar Hill, No. 10 Midlothian, No. 11 Hutto (home of the Hippos!), and No. 19 Boerne.
The top-ranked area in select categories receive the National Night Out Cup. The other ranked areas in those categories receive a plaque. The Coppell Police Department is hoping we can secure another cup this year.
“We have a very safe community, and we like to say that it takes a community to keep a community safe. It’s not just your police, your fire, and your public works — it takes the whole community,” Barton said. “And National Night Out is a part of that, because you get to come out, you get to meet your neighbors, and those relationships mean something, because we have to watch out for each other. It’s our community, and we have to keep it safe together.”
I know where my neighborhood’s National Night Out party is happening, because I received an invitation via our subdivision’s private Facebook group. If you’re not sure where your neighbors are gathering, contact Officer Kelly Luther via kluther@coppelltx.gov. She’ll direct you to the nearest party, where you may get to meet the event’s official mascot, the National Night Out Knight, who was on hand for last week’s proclamation.
“This guy’s ready to party like a rock star,” Luther said.
Sales Tax Revenues Get Shifted
Faithful readers of this newsletter already know that the City of Coppell has been budgeting as if Rule 3.334 went into effect a year ago. As proposed by Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar, that rule would take sales taxes on online transactions away from warehouse-heavy cities like Coppell and move them to the buyers’ hometowns. If Hegar gets his way, Coppell could lose up to 18 percent of its annual revenue.
A longtime City of Coppell volunteer recently admitted that he thought Rule 3.334 had gone into effect last October. So it may be necessary to reiterate that the rule is in limbo until the lawsuits that Coppell and a few other cities filed against Hegar are resolved. The next court proceedings in those suits aren’t expected until January.
The city has been setting money aside in a special Sales Tax Holding Fund, just in case Rule 3.334 went into effect with a retroactive date of Oct. 1, 2021. But a memo that Director of Finance Kim Tiehen sent to the City Council in advance of last Tuesday’s meeting said, “It has been determined that this is not necessary.”
Consequently, the council approved some budget amendments during its final meeting of fiscal 2022. Due to the closure of the Sales Tax Holding Fund and higher-than-expected revenues from sales taxes (the rare positive side-effect of inflation), the council gave a thumbs-up to these budgetary increases:
$9,722,159 to the General Fund
$4,686,952 to the Coppell Recreation Development Corporation
$2,198,218 to the Infrastructure Maintenance Fund
$2,141,825 to the Crime Control Prevention Fund
The continuation of those last two funds is subject to voters’ approval this fall. When early voting begins on Oct. 24, Coppell residents will be asked whether they are for or against these two propositions:
Proposition A: “Whether or not to continue the adoption of one-fourth of one percent sales and use tax to provide revenue for maintenance and repair of municipal streets for a four (4) year period.”
Proposition B: “Whether or not to continue the adoption of one-fourth of one percent sales and use tax for crime reduction programs for a ten (10) year period.”
Health Council to Tackle Hot Topics
Nobody signed up to speak during the “Open Forum” portion of the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees’ regular meeting on Monday. Given how dramatic some board meetings have been lately in the school districts to our west, a lack of speakers is always a pleasant surprise.
I wonder if our community will continue to remain so tight-lipped regarding one of the items on Monday’s agenda. The board unanimously approved a motion to convene the district’s School Health Advisory Council (SHAC), which will make recommendations regarding appropriate grade levels and methods of instruction for these topics:
Human sexuality
Child abuse
Family violence
Dating violence
Sex trafficking
A Frequently Asked Questions document published by the Texas Association of School Boards says the majority of a SHAC’s members must be parents who are not employed by the district. A SHAC roster is not posted on the Coppell ISD website, but the SHAC bylaws adopted last May are, and they identify Chronicle subscriber Wednesday Foster as the “Parent Chair-Elect.” Foster confirmed for me that she will be the Parent Chair during this school year. During Monday’s board meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Angie Brooks said Trustees Neena Biswas and Leigh Walker will also be SHAC members.
Brooks said the SHAC will have public meetings on Oct. 20 and 21. The Board of Trustees will then consider the SHAC’s recommendations in November or December. Per the aforementioned FAQ document, parents will have at least 14 days’ notice before any instruction begins on human sexuality, and parents will have to opt their students in.
CISD Passes First Intruder Audit
Shortly before the school year started, the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees was briefed on the district’s safety and security plans. As I reported in the Aug. 14 edition, the board was told that state officials plan to periodically test whether they can intrude on particular campuses.
On Monday, Chief Operations Officer Dennis Womack told the board that a Texas School Safety Center inspector has already tried to find the weak points on a Coppell ISD campus. Fortunately, the inspector found none.
As Womack explained it, the Texas School Safety Center’s policy is to warn a district’s superintendent to expect an audit in the ensuing month, but the inspectors don’t provide specific dates, nor do they indicate how many campuses they intend to visit. After the superintendent identifies all of the local law enforcement agencies, the inspector gives them a heads-up.
The audit starts with the inspector trying to access three exterior doors before entering the front office to identify themselves. They then request an escort while conducting an audit of all exterior doors. The inspectors will request documentation of a school’s weekly door sweeps, which are required by the state, and they will leave a copy of their audit report with the principal.
A campus can get strikes in three areas during an audit:
Was the inspector able to enter the school?
Did the inspector find any unsecured exterior doors?
Could the campus document its weekly exterior door sweeps?
Womack said an inspector visited one Coppell ISD campus in September, but he did not say which one. However, he did report that the answers to those three questions were no, no, and yes.
“In fact, that campus, in the inspector’s mind, would have gotten an A-plus, because we had two staff members challenge the inspector as they were trying to enter our facility,” Womack said, to the trustees’ delight. “So they did a very good job. Kudos to that campus and that staff.”
If that Coppell ISD campus had gotten at least one strike during its audit, Womack said, the district would have been required to notify the public of any corrective actions taken during the next regularly scheduled Board of Trustees meeting.
Trustee Anthony Hill asked Womack whether the district has all the parts it needs in case the staff discovers something is broken during one of the weekly sweeps.
“With the supply-chain issues we’ve seen over the last couple of years, those have been a pain source,” Womack said. “However, the good news is we keep adequate stock in house of the majority of our major failure parts.”
Womack said Coppell ISD can expect to be subjected to at least one more intruder audit before the school year is over.
“Our campuses are ready and able to meet this challenge,” Womack said. “It’s a very well-trained staff by our principals, and they really deserve all the credit.”
Chronicle Crumbs
• The Coppell ISD Education Foundation’s Give for Grants campaign is up and running. Teachers throughout the district have submitted grant requests, and you can choose which one (or ones) you would like to fund. Click here to peruse the proposals. The deadline to contribute is Oct. 31.
• There are Facebook groups that have “Coppell ISD” in their name that welcome members from anywhere on the planet. By contrast, a relatively new Facebook group called We ♥ CISD is limited to district residents. The group’s stated mission is “to be a positive voice of encouragement, accolades, shout outs for outstanding activities, teachers, administrators and students and information sharing within our Coppell ISD family.”
• The Coppell Cowboys varsity football team suffered their first loss of the season on Friday, when they fell to the Lewisville Farmers by a score of 38-3. On the same night, the varsity volleyball team swept Plano in three sets to improve their district record to 6-1. The Cowgirls’ next home match is Tuesday against Plano West, and they “need the whole district there.”
• Oct. 11 is the voter registration deadline for the Nov. 8 elections. If you need to get registered or update your status, stop by the Kaleidoscope festival at Andrew Brown Park East on Saturday. A couple of volunteer deputy registrars will be on hand to get you squared away.
• City Manager Mike Land told the City Council on Tuesday that the west side of South Belt Line Road should be ready to roll by the end of October, which means traffic will shift to those lanes, allowing reconstruction of the east side to begin. More importantly (from my perspective), he also reported that the project at the intersection of Bethel School and Denton Tap roads should be completed by the middle of this month.
Community Calendar
Coppell Women’s Club: Betsy Wilcox of the Coppell Historical Society will discuss the city’s past and present, as well as an upcoming home tour, when the Coppell Women’s Club meets at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday at Church of the Apostles.
Coppell Softball Tailgate Party: The Cowgirls softball program will raise money at Buddy Echols Field on Friday by selling meals before the varsity football team’s game against Marcus. For $5, you’ll get a burger or hot dog, a bag of chips, and a drink. Bring cash and your appetite starting at 5:30.
The Miracle Worker: Theatre Coppell will stage three performances of the play about Helen Keller next weekend, plus three more the weekend after that.
No Wine Left Behind: The Coppell Lions Club’s annual winetasting fundraiser is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field. The cost is $50 per person, and all of the proceeds will go to the charities supported by the Lions.
Kid Country Anniversary Celebration: The Coppell Parks and Recreation Department will mark the playground’s 30th anniversary as well as the 10th anniversary of its rebuild. The festivities are scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday at Andrew Brown Park East.
Kaleidoscope: Coppell’s annual festival of color, culture, and music is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at Andrew Brown Park East. If you want to compete in the Chalk Art Contest, you have until 5 p.m. on Wednesday to get your paperwork in order.
Brad Linder book signing: The Coppell resident and owner of Get You In Shape will sign copies of his new book, 40 Day Challenge, at 9 a.m. on Oct. 15 at Andrew Brown Park East. The signing event will be preceded by a community workout at 8 a.m., of course.
Pioneer Day: The Coppell Historical Society’s annual event at Heritage Park will feature a petting zoo, snow cones, games and crafts that are reminiscent of early Coppell, and shopping in the vintage Minyard store. The festivities are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 15.
Art, Sip & Stroll: This Coppell Arts Council event will feature performances by the Coppell Community Chorale, the Coppell Community Orchestra, and the Ballet Ensemble of Texas at Andrew Brown Park East on Oct. 15. Tickets start at $15.
Farm to Table Dinner: This Coppell Farmers Market fundraiser is scheduled for Oct. 22 at the Coppell Senior & Community Center. The to-be-announced menu will be seasonal, made with ingredients sourced from and prepared by the market’s food producers. Tickets are $108, with all proceeds benefiting the market’s operations and its SNAP program.
Arts Gala: The Coppell Arts Center Foundation’s inaugural fundraising gala promises “a night of Rat Pack-inspired glitz and glamour” at the Coppell Arts Center (of course) on Oct. 22. Tickets are $125.
Wait a minute — two Old Town venues are hosting high-dollar fundraisers on the same evening? Yikes.
This news that you reported makes me proud and happy that we have competent people running our town! I love that coppell has added turn lanes or made turn lanes larger. City planning is doing a great job and I will gladly vote to continue the sales tax to be used for our roads!
What is going into the old coppell ivy montessori on naches trace